The Art of Time Management

Don't we all wish we could be like Flash Man now and then? Admittedly, it does suck to be violently rent by every jackass armed with a Metal Blade, but the ability to stop time is still an attractive proposition. This "Time Stopper," if you will, is a common device in the genre of

science fiction where from the hallowed Mega Man franchise draws much of its atmosphere. And, sure, it has its uses outside of paralyzing protagonists and quelling Quick Man. Why, if it weren't for theoretical temporal conflicts with console clock speed, I could finally catch up on all the gaming I'm supposed to be doing.

As I'm sure you observed in my Resolutions post, I have quite a bit on my gaming plate at the moment. As I prophesied, I have abandoned the Prince on the Island of Time, eternally locked in a conflict with the Empress of Time, in a noble effort to prevent the Sands of Time from ever being created. One particular area of the Island of Time, the Puzzle Chamber, colorfully referred to as "t3h br0k3n Chamb3r 0f Pu22l3m3nt !!1", eventually frustrated me to a point where I had to say to myself, "Killa, you handsome devil, you have a perfectly playable alternative nestled right there in your stylish Puma bag. Why waste anymore time on this cheap port when you could be playing Portable Ops?" So's I says to myself I says, "Hells yeah." A quick swap later and I have been nigh constantly engrossed in sneaking my way around the San Hieroynmo peninsula.

Although I will tell you I am severely tempted to proclaim MPO the best game of 2006 at this very instance, I will wait until I have completed at least one playthrough before I post a review. Regardless, as Steve Miller so eloquently put it, "Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future." I am often times attempting to wrest myself from my girlfriend's loving embrace to squeeze in a few hours of FFXII with Catarina or to kick back with the J Team for a chaotic session of Ultimate Alliance. If only there was more time for such things. But alas, I am an adult now, and the art of time management is not nearly as simple as it was back in the 8-bit era.