Go Akimbo In Modern Warfare 2 With Dual Wield Handguns

In a tweet by Infinity Ward’s community manager, Robert Bowling, we get confirmation that players in Modern Warfare 2 will have the ability to dual wield handguns, in particular Desert Eagles.

402 – “Just walked off stage. Crowd was amazing, went insane chanting “pick it up!” when I stumbled over Dual-wield Deagles. lol – Akimbo confirmed“

After a little confusion and lots of speculation 402 cleared up exactly what he meant;

402 – “I was presenting a singleplayer mission at the GameCrazy show this morning on stage and happened to walk over a body that had Akimbo (dual wield side arm), 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.

So I did.

Happened to be dual Deagles. Now to calm some initial fears of “OMG! Overpowered!”. Akimbo is limited and balanced, just like EVERYTHING in the game. It’s limited to sidearms, harder to aim than standard and you can’t go ADS (aim down sights) since you have a weapon in each hand; Among other balancing techniques, so don’t freak out before you see it in action.”

When you think of dual wield weapons in video games the first game that comes to mind is Halo. Halo is a dirty word amongst a lot of the CoD community so after the community gave their feedback on the news (mostly negative) 402 went on to say:

402 – “In all honesty, the initial reaction to “dual wielding” is shocking. It’s not something you expect and is completely new to the game. However, the designers have done an amazing job in how they implemented it.

I can also completely appreciate the realism argument. Sometimes we make that decision of realism for balancing (i.e. AT4 locking on to airborne killstreaks) and sometimes to add a variety of fun gameplay mechanics, which is the case with Akimbo.

I promise you though, we’re not going sci-fi or completely changing what Modern Warfare is all about. It’s still about the fast paced, infantry focused combat that we all love. We don’t have jetpacks and shields. Once you play the game with all the new perks, attachments, weapons, killstreaks, features, gear, and other surprises it all comes together perfectly.

I plan to back that up with plenty of MP videos and details as we get closer to launch, the latest one coming out this week so you’re up to speed on what to expect on November 10th.”

Another quote by 402 indicates that the dual wield system will be available in the Multiplayer side of Modern Warfare 2 as-well as Single Player

402 – “Riot Shield + Akimbo Sidearms is awesome for a defensive playstyle. (i.e. covering someone planting a bomb in S&D).

Since you can’t use a weapon with a shield, and it’s quicker to switch to a sidearm than reloading or switching to another weapon. You can provide mobile cover for the planter, then when the attacker reloads, switch to Akimbo sidearms and put some quick rounds down range. Your accuracy won’t be great, but there is something to be gained from suppressive fire and fast response.”

Here’s what IW animator, Chance Glasco had to say

“To those upset about this…we wouldn’t keep something in the game that sucks. Simple Philosophy.”

The surprises just keep on coming! Discuss this story Here

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