5. Mindless Mayhem (Dynasty Warriors, Dead Rising & Dead Island)
Capcom VancouverSometimes we get home from a hard day at work and just want to switch on our games console of choice and mindlessly slaughter a horde of enemies in order to wind down. Games such as Dynasty Warriors, Dead Rising and Dead Island are the definition of "instant gratification" games: within a minute or so of loading each game up, you can be dueling with Samurai or taking on a huge fleet of zombies with a massive chainsaw, and you aren't really required to think about much else. We all love video games with great stories, but sometimes we don't need that: sometimes the visceral experience is enough, and that's where games such as this find their niche. Nobody plays these titles for the emotion or the characters, but for the sheer fact that wanton murder on a huge, ridiculous scale is a stupid amount of fun. That said, due to the fact that we as gamers like to prop up gaming as a "mature" and artful medium, many of us tend to downplay how much time we put into games like this, because it's just supporting the gamer stereotype that non-gamers like to believe, right? Still, these games totally serve their purpose, to provide bursts of violent catharsis while vegging out after a long day.