7. The Sims
MaxisFew serious gamers will admit to owning or even having played Maxis' mammoth life-simulator franchise The Sims, largely because it is a game absolutely not aimed at the militant, hardcore gamer who holds gaming to be a sacred, misunderstood art. Rather, The Sims is designed with casual and non-gamers in mind: it's a completely undemanding game that nevertheless allows players to live out wacky fantasy lives in gigantic houses, allowing players to pretty much drop in and out whenever they have a spare 15 minutes, rather than need to remain glued to their screen for an indeterminate period. Basically, it's perfect for those with busy lives, and as a result, it's no surprise that all three main Sims games to date are among the 10 best-selling PC games of all time. But here's a newsflash: even self-professed "hardcore" gamers might enjoy a bout of The Sims from time to time, and they might even find their time swallowed up by the wealth of opportunities the game affords you. Progressing to a bigger house, a better job, marriage and kids proves ridiculously addictive, and then there's the darker side of the game, where murdering as many of your Sims as possible (along with their neighbours) becomes a sick hobby all on its own. The Sims games aren't especially complex or impressive from an AI perspective (though great improvements are promised for the upcoming The Sims 4), but they're akin to a young girl playing house or a young boy with a train set: pure fantasy that we all want to be a part of.