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It's expensive.
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Too heavy.
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And almost entirely impractical.
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The Desert Eagle isn't a very good handgun - but nonetheless it is remarkably popular:
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it features in hundreds of movies, television shows and video games.
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So how did such an unwieldy weapon become so iconic?
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Why is the Deagle a trademark of many first person shooters?
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And is bigger always better?
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The Desert Eagle was designed as a semi-automatic rival to large-frame, high calibre revolvers:
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a gas-operated pistol able to feed from interchangeable magazines and with superior capacity to a
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typical 6-round cylinder.
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Design started in 1979 at American co Magnum Research, Inc. - with the first finished pistols
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produced in 1982 by Israeli weapons manufacturer IMI.
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The latest iteration - the Mark XIX - emerged in 1995, and like some kind of fashion accessory,
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even comes with a number of choices as far as finish is concerned.
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Amongst them, the most demure is plain Black: others include three chromed options of various
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lustres; nickel either satin or bright; and gold both 24 karat and in a more durable Titanium
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variant; and if either gold finish isn't suitably ostentatious - then there's always the tiger
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stripes.
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There are also more practical options, such as the choice of either a 6-inch or 10-inch
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barrel: and your calibre preference, either .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum or .50 Action Express.
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The latter cartridge was designed specifically for high-calibre semi-automatic pistols, and
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indeed the Desert Eagle was the first handgun chambered for it: a performance jump from
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the already mighty .44 Magnum round, and right on the cusp of calibres deemed legal.
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The .50 cal chambering set the pistol above most other magnum options, which in turn has
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led to it finding popularity in action films since the 1980s - supplanting Dirty Harry's
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.44 Magnum as the most powerful handgun in the world.
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For almost as long as video games have existed, they have been influenced by cinema.
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While the firearms in early games were often made generic through lack of resolution, as
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the number of polygons possible to push on-screen grew, weapons were able to be rendered in
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ever greater detail - giving rise to games with realistically rendered arsenals.
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However, due to concerns over the use of trademarks, the real-steel Desert Eagle's name hasn't
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always matched its in-game appellation.
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Sometimes it's known by generic terms that allude to its higher calibre - the 'magnum
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pistol', 'heavy handgun' or '.50 AE' offering a clue as to the handgun's power.
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Sometimes the name is a mite more imaginative: and while the 'Silver Talon' in Soldier of
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Fortune, 'Desert Ranger' in Tomb Raider, or Counter-Strike's Night Hawk .50 cal' might
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not be instantly recognisable by name, the imposing sillhouette of the Deagle is unmistakeable.
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Counter-Strike in 1999 was one of the earliest realistic depictions of the gun: the game
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was originally a mod for Half-Life, and eventually graduated to a full retail release.
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The weapon's digital rendition mirrors the real steel's power: while magazine capacity
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was limited, its high damage and one-shot headshot potential more than made up for any
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shortcoming.
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The game graciously overlooks the weapon's impracticality for combat use, with the firearm
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eventually becoming a fast favourite for use in tandem with a primary weapon.
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The powerful pistol returned in Counter-Strike: Source, and once again more recently in Global
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Offensive - each time filling a similar high-powered backup role.
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Stylish, powerful and capable of skillfull headshot kills - the Counter-Strike depiction
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is a definitive one: with the game enjoying huge popularity over its lifespan, particularly
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in a world before Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
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In the opening scenes of COD4 the Desert Eagle is very prominent: as a deposed president,
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you're bundled into a car, given a none-too gentle buttstroke, frogmarched to a pillory
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- and then, after some posturing - shot in the head by the golden high-calibre pistol.
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It's fatal punctuation for a coup d'etat: a show of force in public execution - and
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that's what the Desert Eagle is all about: exhibition.
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A vulgar display of power.
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It's a compelling moment, and the Desert Eagle is the totem of such potential: setting the
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story in motion in an explosive fashion.
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It's not until the very end of the campaign that the pistol makes a return: this time
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as a grim portent of doom, executing a squadmate and moving towards your position with similar
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intent - only diverted by a timely distraction and some quick-thinking by Price.
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The later instalments weren't afraid to see the Desert Eagle's reprise in its pivotal
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role: Modern Warfare 2 sees the pistol crop up in a few instances, notably in the hands
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of Brazilian arms dealer Rojas' assistant in the first of the favela missions.
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Modern Warfare 3 sees even more liberal use of the high-calibre option: protagonist Yuri
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uses it as his default sidearm - and you find yourself staring down its barrel in one pivotal
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scene with Price.
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The iconic weapon reappears at the climax of MW3's campaign, too - with Makarov mirroring
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the down-the-barrel viewpoint with Price, and then subsequently executing poor Yuri
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after his heroic intervention.
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It seems like every do-or-die moment in the Modern Warfare series simply must include
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the weapon - but I suppose if you're going to threaten the player with a gun to the face,
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there are few weapons with as imposing a profile as a .50 calibre Desert Eagle.
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Between its depiction in cinema and video games, the Desert Eagle has established quite
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a reputation: and when it comes to imposing presence and high-calibre action, there are
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few hand-held weapons that can compare.
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Its one-upmanship in power and capacity over magnum revolvers - and a commanding on-screen
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presence - have cemented its place in popular culture.
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Its cinematic influence bled into video games, where its virtual representation reflects
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the real steel weapon - and the lust for power of those who wield it.
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Unrestrained exhibition.
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Terrifying potency.
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And who cares about practicality when you've got a golden gun that shoots giant bullets?
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Thank you very much for watching, and until next time - farewell.