I've been trying to play through Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP for a couple of months now. I'm really enjoying the game and I'm eager to see where the story goes, but I'm finding it difficult to actually motivate myself to sit down with the PSP and play through it. I'm just not big on playing a game on a portable device at home, when I could be playing a console game on a HD television. 
 
It's not that I don't enjoy playing games on the PSP, I love the system, and I've really enjoyed the titles I've played on it. However I didn't buy it for home use, I bought it to play when I'm on the bus or train, and it has served that purpose well. A problem arises with longer games though, gaming experiences more akin to those found on console and PC titles. They encourage longer play sessions, typically longer then a commute or quick bus trip to the shops. I don't want to sit there looking at a tiny screen for hours on end, I'd rather have a more broken up experience that I can attack in short bursts.  
 
Peace Walker does address that, with a nice mission structure that allows shorter play sessions but that isn't really my issue. I love the Metal Gear series, I imagine my username and profile page might give that away. I love Hideo Kojima's unique brand of crazy, the over the top characters, ludicrous plot twists and bizarre supernatural elements that are actually just a convenient bi-product of nano-machines. It's my personal investment in this series and it's characters that is making it hard to play Peace Walker. 
 
How? You might ask. Well I can't just play it for short bursts. I need to see what happens next. I need to listen to every audio tape! 
  
Then I burn out. I either get uncomfortable or my eyes get sore, either way I can't keep playing. Most people would just take a break and come back to it later in the day or the following day. I however then get involved in something else, I get sucked into some other story -- another game, movie or television series typically -- and then I forget about Peace Walker for a while. 
 
I find it so strange, being a huge fan of the series, not feeling the urge to jump straight back into it. Maybe I'm not as big a fan as I thought. Is it perhaps a failing of the format as I initially stated, or does it speak to how spoiled I am by all the great games that have been coming out this year? Either way I'm determined to get through this game. If it were on the PS3 I would have completed and unlocked everything available, but because its on a system I cannot seem to bring myself to dedicate the time to. It's time for me to learn how to play long game in consistent increments rather then large binges. Might be healthier too.

I've been trying to play through Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP for a couple of months now. I'm really enjoying the game and I'm eager to see where the story goes, but I'm finding it difficult to actually motivate myself to sit down with the PSP and play through it. I'm just not big on playing a game on a portable device at home, when I could be playing a console game on a HD television. 
 
It's not that I don't enjoy playing games on the PSP, I love the system, and I've really enjoyed the titles I've played on it. However I didn't buy it for home use, I bought it to play when I'm on the bus or train, and it has served that purpose well. A problem arises with longer games though, gaming experiences more akin to those found on console and PC titles. They encourage longer play sessions, typically longer then a commute or quick bus trip to the shops. I don't want to sit there looking at a tiny screen for hours on end, I'd rather have a more broken up experience that I can attack in short bursts.  
 
Peace Walker does address that, with a nice mission structure that allows shorter play sessions but that isn't really my issue. I love the Metal Gear series, I imagine my username and profile page might give that away. I love Hideo Kojima's unique brand of crazy, the over the top characters, ludicrous plot twists and bizarre supernatural elements that are actually just a convenient bi-product of nano-machines. It's my personal investment in this series and it's characters that is making it hard to play Peace Walker. 
 
How? You might ask. Well I can't just play it for short bursts. I need to see what happens next. I need to listen to every audio tape! 
  
Then I burn out. I either get uncomfortable or my eyes get sore, either way I can't keep playing. Most people would just take a break and come back to it later in the day or the following day. I however then get involved in something else, I get sucked into some other story -- another game, movie or television series typically -- and then I forget about Peace Walker for a while. 
 
I find it so strange, being a huge fan of the series, not feeling the urge to jump straight back into it. Maybe I'm not as big a fan as I thought. Is it perhaps a failing of the format as I initially stated, or does it speak to how spoiled I am by all the great games that have been coming out this year? Either way I'm determined to get through this game. If it were on the PS3 I would have completed and unlocked everything available, but because its on a system I cannot seem to bring myself to dedicate the time to. It's time for me to learn how to play long game in consistent increments rather then large binges. Might be healthier too.