Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will have dual-wielding

Dual-wielding small arms isn’t a new element in the first-person shooter world, but the addition of it in Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gives it new legs. Dubbed “Akimbo,” the fine art of dual-wielding is, possibly, a skill. Akimbo doesn’t allow people to wield two AK47s or MP5s. Described as “balanced” by game community manager Robert Bowling, the skill allows players to duel-wield sidearms and nothing more.

Bowling-san revealed the skill at a recent GameCrazy event. In a message board post, he implies that the reveal was inadvertent, but the crowd’s positive reaction to an icon to do it drove him to use the skill.

“I was presenting a single-player mission at the GameCrazy show this morning on stage and happened to walk over a body that had ‘Akimbo’ (dual-wield sidearm), therefore the icon for the weapon popped up on screen and the room went crazy with chants demanding I pick it up and use it,” Bowling said.

“So I did.”

Bowling picked up two Desert Eagles — hand cannons, essentially and used them. In the same post, he tells fans not to worry about any imbalance. Using two guns at the same time makes it “harder to aim than standard” and players won’t be able to use the iron sights. That’s on top of other “balancing techniques” IW has used.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ships with dual-wielding on November 10.

[via IGN]

[Update: Whoops. Misunderstanding on the “perk” business. Akimbo may or may not be one, but it sounds like Bowling is lumping it in the category.]

On an anecdotal note: I understand that rush of excitement. I was watching a Halo 2 demonstration — it might have been an E3 thing, but I can’t remember the venue — when I saw Master Chief pick up two weapons for the first time. I cheered and thrusted my hands into the air in adulation with the crowd. I was a thousand or so miles away and watching it through a computer monitor, but still feeling the buzz. It’s great when a series you’re a fan of gets something new and as beautifully devastating as duel-wielding.

Then, of course, the presenter revealed hijacking. Whoa.

I’ll leave it at that.