6. Friends/Girlfriends
Grand Theft Auto 4 was the biggest culprit for this; every twenty minutes or so, you'd receive a phone call or a a message from a friend or one of the many women you were able to date demanding your attention, whether it be to take them bowling, to a bar, or generally to spend some time with them. The first couple of times aren't that bad: you pick them up, play an awful mini-game and then go your separate ways, safe in the knowledge that you won't have to do that again anytime soon, but what seems like seconds later you get another call from someone else demanding your attention, and after a while it starts to feel like the Microsoft Paperclip and Norton Anti-Virus notifications have been given equally irritating in-game personalities. I don't mind my character having friends; it adds realism, but they need to tie into the main story, rather than distract from it and most importantly they need to have less emotional neediness than a three year old child.