One of the biggest complaints fans had from Modern Warfare 2 was the imbalance of perks - specifically, the Commando Perk, which made melee kills especially easy.

Many wondered if the loathed perk would see a return in the upcoming Modern Warfare 3. Luckily, for anyone frustrated by players who were able to run around maps one-shot killing with the knife, the perk will not be returning in the upcoming Modern Warfare 3.

Speaking about the upcoming multiplayer offering, Infinity Ward's creative strategist Robert Bowling confirmed (via Twitter) that the Commando perk has been removed from Modern Warfare 3.

"Its been balanced, plus Commando is no longer in the game. Beyond that, you'll have to wait and see."

Commando was lauded by Modern Warfare 2 players because it's primary "bonus" was that it gave players an extended melee range. This became especially problematic - because the knife is a one hit kill in the Call of Duty franchise.  The imbalance of Commando became an even greater issue when the perk was used in combination with the Marathon and Lightweight perks - marathon gave players unlimited sprint and Lightweight allowed players to move faster. Coupled with Marathon Pro (allowing players to climb obstacles faster) and Commando Pro (giving players no fall damage) and those with the dreaded Marathon/Lightweight/Commando loadout became one of the most frustrating additions to the series.

In his tweet, Robert Bowling stated that the melee system itself has been balanced, but that players will have to wait and see to find out more. Aside from the removal of Commando it's difficult to speculate how they could improve the melee system - without drastically altering the Call of Duty experience. Adding a two-hit melee system similar to Halo or Resistance would prove problematic for Call of Duty's signature run-and-gun gameplay style. With the inclusion of Commando it became prevalent that players who hit the melee button first would get the kill, though changing this would no doubt annoy players who get into a melee-bout - only to have both players drop-dead. While the melee system has been a source of much of the anger directed at the Call of Duty franchise, it is great to see Infinity Ward attempt to improve it - for the enjoyment of all players.

Modern Warfare 2 was full of exploitations and imbalanced perks, the most notorious combinations being Marathon/Lightweight/Commando and One Man Army/Danger Close. Commando, One Man Army and Danger Close were all removed for Black Ops which led to a large decrease in grenade launcher users and Marathon/Lightweight knifers - though, no doubt, the melee system still needed some work.  It will be interesting to see what changes were made to the system in Modern Warfare 3.

Modern Warfare 3 releases November 8th, 2011 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.  Have the promises of an improved melee system convinced you to give the franchise another shot?

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Source: Twitter