At a recent video game retailer event, Robert Bowling, community manager for Infinity Ward, was showing off a level in the single player campaign when he came across a dead body who was packing a desert eagle. No big deal, right? But instead of just getting a replacement sidearm, Bowling was able to pick up two Deagles at once and go all John Woo on their asses. In his words:

   "I...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."

Obviously this will make people instantly think of dual wielding in "Halo," but like Bungie, Infinity Ward is pretty good at balancing their games. I'd be shocked if games devolved into wild west pistolero battles, given the limitations. I'll take an assault rifle over two sidearms any day of the week, thank you very much.

Oh, side note, there's also a new multiplayer trailer for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" coming sometime this week. Woo!

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/08/26/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-lets-you-dual-wield-weapons/

thanks luke, i heard about this and I was somewhat skeptical, tbh I still am, hopefully there will be a way to turn it off for the people who like realism.

Nice info. I have faith in Infinity Ward, though, and am keeping skepticism at bay. It's great to see they keep pushing the bar by throwing in new ideas - this is what makes them better than Treyarch, imo.