5. Football Manager
Have you ever wanted to be the manager of the biggest clubs in Europe? Many people watch the beautiful game with great fervour, thinking that they would be far more suited to the job than the actual gaffers that earn thousands of pounds a week to watch your team get beaten week in and week out. But, after playing Football Manager 2013, I can inform everybody that I don't want to be a football manager - it seems to cover the basic elements of game addiction by being both intoxicating and infuriating at the same time, like an episode of Come Dine With Me. I have owned every football manager series since 2006, and probably in that time the biggest shift in the gameplay has come with this year's installment. That continuity has made the series a staple of the video game industry, and the fact that it is based upon an ever-changing (but still always the same) footballing cycle means that every year its fans will shell out money so they can manage new upcoming players and teams. The most complimentary thing I can say about Football Manager is that it is realistic, and that means that like many managers you wait anxiously whilst the game is going on, not having a single clue whether or not you are going to win or not. This unpredictability adds an exciting edge to the game, until the excitement wears off but you're still playing it even though you would derive more entertainment hammering nails into your scrotum. The fact of the matter is that the genre of the game means people will always come back for more. The free updates are a commendable touch that allows the gamers to keep up to date with any shifts in the world of football, extending the gameplaying time at least past the January transfer window. Furthermore, when you inevitably get sucked into this game, every season you complete takes longer and longer to finish due to the game's poorly designed data storage. The game is one of the most addictive out there because football is the addiction of many a nation, and the prospect of winning the Champions League with Accrington Stanley is often too great an allure to keep the punters away.