10 Soulless Video Games That Are Just Slot-Machines

There's a rancid stench wafting around the gaming industry of late, and it can only be attributed to the advent and subsequent growth of the freemium business model. Freemium - a silly word for a wretched concept. Vampiric developers and their publisher overlords sit hunched over analytic spreadsheets, chuckling throatily about nefarious things like coercive monetisation, pay walls and progress gates. Yes, that's an overly dramatic way of looking at things - after all, there are rare instances where the concept has been successfully executed with the consumer's interests in mind - but spend some quality time with some of the big names in the Free-to-Play arena and it becomes quite clear: at its worst, freemium gaming is the diseased, putrid back-alley of an otherwise inspired, passionate industry. To be fair, it's worth keeping in mind that the gaming industry is exactly that - an industry. It's about revenue streams, profits and smiling investors. But it's also about creativity, innovation, art and entertainment, where the ultimate goal is an almost altruistic relationship between creator and consumer. But in the wrong hands - and here we look squarely at the major earners like King and Gameloft - that relationship is unceremoniously desecrated. Devious, parasitic little games so brazenly and unashamedly aiming straight for your wallet - this is a business model based almost entirely on exploitation. There will be those who defend these games on the basis that they don't have to cost you a penny, while traditional games can set you back a fair amount of cash, but there's an important distinction: when you pay big money for a proper game, the people behind it make their money up front. The onus is on them to make the game worth what you've spent on it. The worst offenders in the free-to-play category on the other hand, are hell bent on crafting a user experience specifically designed to be painfully infuriating unless you're prepared to spit real money at them. The consumer is seen as nothing more than a bloated bank account waiting to be sucked dry. While not all freemium games are created equal, there are a number of malevolent, ravenous titles - and the mercenary trolls who create them - which deserve to be chastised for exploiting your weaknesses and addictive tendencies to line their pockets with cold, hard cash. Read on for a veritable "who's who" of these most evil of games.