Now, I’ve been keeping my distance from the blog for some time now. Mainly it’s because I haven’t had the time for it, since I’m spending all my writing time on my thesis manifesto, which I’m 47 pages deep into. Furthermore, I haven’t even been playing that many games, so it’s not like I’d have a great deal to write about here. Occasionally I dip into Another World, mostly to alleviate writer’s block with the trade-off of gamer’s block (I still can’t get past those fucking guards after doing the reservoir puzzle), and at the moment I’m staving off Psychonauts until I beat Ico for a third time, as it’s my vacation for all the sweat, blood and editorial angst I poured into God of War. Besides that, I haven’t even been doing that much with my PSP lately, as I spend my train rides to and from the city rediscovering the pastime of reading (Orwell’s Keep the Apidistra Flying, for one, and Don DeLillo’s Falling Man at the moment), yet when I do take it out I’ve only been playing exactly the same game you’d think I would be playing, after all this time. If nothing else, you certainly can’t accuse me of not getting my money’s worth out of MPO, even if I haven’t figured out how to get the damn online multiplayer option working. A little while ago, however, I had an experience with the game that I believe is worth sharing here, as it speaks something not only to the nature of Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, but also to the nature of portable gaming in general.

(more…)