Akimbo
Akimbo (originally English for arms on the hips ) denotes in the computer game scene the simultaneous use of the same weapons with both hands. These are usually pistols or machine guns . Often one finds such weapon combinations in first person shooters under names like "Dual Berettas ", "Akimbo pistols", "Akimbo-Manner" and the like. The Akimbo style is also not uncommon in various role-playing games .
history
The idea of holding two firearms at the same time originated in the Wild West , as revolvers at that time only contained ammunition for six rounds and were not cocked automatically . It prevailed over so-called "fanning": The weapon was quickly cocked with both hands, while the shooter quickly hit the hammer with the other hand. The advantage lay in the more precise aiming ability. While cocking one weapon, the other could be fired to double the rate of fire.
In film and television, Akimbo was first picked up in western films . During the 1970s this appeared often in films by Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku ; for example Gendai yakuza: hito-kiri yota (1972) and Graveyard of honor (1974) - (remake 2004 by Takashi Miike) etc.
At the end of the 1980s, it was presented in action films primarily by the Chinese director John Woo , mostly with the actor Chow Yun-Fat, whereby the dramatic effect was more important than the practical use. The use as a stylistic device (senseless shootings in the narrow streets and backyards of Hong Kong at night, etc.) was first found in products of the Chinese film industry, later also in Hollywood productions.
One of the first computer games to use the Akimbo technology was the first person shooter Rise of the Triad , which was released in December 1994. The two FN Browning high-power pistols became the trademark of Lara Croft , the protagonist from Tomb Raider , which is also used extensively in the film adaptations and for promotional purposes of the series.
There are also many Akimbo weapons in the Serious Sam series. In Serious Sam II there were only two revolvers in the normal game that could be used with Akimbo, but mods from the community made all weapons in the Akimbo usable.
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas you could build up a weapon skill within an RPG element, which enables Akimbo with a few weapons. Here, too, this feature has been expanded by the community.
In the computer game Heavy Metal FAKK 2 published in 2000 , the two weapons could be controlled separately for the first time. The video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward / Activision, released in November 2009, also includes this style. The games Wolfenstein: The New Order , Wolfenstein: The Old Blood and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus also have this option. It is possible to have both weapons equipped in different fire modes (burst of fire - single shot).
Web links
- Information on akimbo on www.alphadictionary.com (English)
- Arms Akimbo - elbows out at the blog english-munich.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Call of Juarez. Techland. Review by Cronn . Review of the first-person shooter computer game Call of Juarez by Techland on www.x-zine.de; Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ↑ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Two creaking thanks to Akimbo ability . On: www.gamezone.de, August 25, 2009 (German-language article which cites and links to an English-language report on www.computerandvideogames.com as the source); Retrieved June 19, 2011.