Why do a lot of modern first-person shooters try to be "realistic"?

[Peter1986]

Realism can be fun in the right amounts, yes, however I often feel that especially modern games restrict themselves too much in their quest for total realism.
I don't care that I cannot dual-wield two heavy big-ass rocket launchers in real life, it was awesome to do things like that in "GoldenEye 007" and I think almost everyone I knew back then felt the same way.
Also, it was really hilarious how scientists would pull out pistols and spam grenades at you if you annoyed them too much - this wouldn't happen in real life, since I am sure that scientists are not allowed to carry explosives while they are in the laborary, but it was very fun to play around with this and it was a huge "wtf?!" moment the first time it happened.
And let's not forget Elvis the alien or the infinitely powerful weapon Farsight XR-20 in "Perfect Dark", or the fact that the characters in "Redneck Rampage" can restore their life by drinking whiskey.

I am not saying that everything must be as unrealistic as possible, all I am saying is that shooters shouldn't restrict themselves by real-life physics - more often than not, those "weird" and "silly" ideas can add a lot to the gameplay and the pure entertainment factor if they are used wisely.