10 Notorious Video Games That Ask You To Sacrifice Your Social Life

4. Any Grand Theft Auto

As with the entry for Skryim, it is the most recent instalment of this hugely detailed and successful series used for evidence here, but it's true that nearly any game from the GTA series could be included here - especially the 3D ones. With the Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar has consistently created games based on well-observed real worlds and stories. Each addition to the series offers more and more in the way of virtual reality for its players to experience and GTA V is truly to pick of the bunch in this respect. The game offers players the chance to run wild in the world of San Andreas - a startlingly realistic clone of Los Angeles - as one of three equally sociopathic characters. Letting players lose in a game that boasts a compelling story and a huge number of virtualised versions of real-life activities like sports and social interaction make GTA the go-to game for people who just want a little more freedom than they have in the real world. The activities and diversions are so cathartic and consequence-free that players can use the game as a virtual punching bag for their real world frustrations. Why go to an actual driving range to take out your anger on real gold balls when you can hit up San Andreas' country club and do the same from the comfort of your own home? Why go for a long, relaxing drive in your own crappy town when you can take a long, pedestrian-endangering drive in a stolen sports car through sun-soaked streets or palm-tree covered hills? GTA's world offers gamers the freedom to do almost anything, so who would choose the real world instead?