2018 is looking to be an excellent year for games, but one would wonder if a rift in time & space has been broken due to the amount of nostalgic franchises we've been receiving lately (Crash Bandicoot, Spyro to be re-released, and of course, Mega Man).

E3 2018 is over a month away, and knowing the trends from past conventions, we're sure to be hearing leaks and information about games before the expo even begins.

What shall we see in the future? Perhaps even more old franchises making a comeback? Another influx of indie games? An announcement for XBox One X-S? Will we finally be blessed with the highly-anticipated Mario is Missing sequel?

Here's a list is games most likely, if not definitely to be shown this year, so far....

Super Smash Bros. may steal the show if they offer enough details about this installment. What will change? What characters will return to the roster? Which new ones will be introduced? Most importantly, will we see our favorite Blue Bomber return for the Switch?

2K has been secretly working on a AAA title, and they're pretty tight-lipped about it. Most guesses point to a new Borderlands installment, while rumors have been circulating about a new BioShock installment in the making. If both are true, chances are the former is likely to be announced than the latter at this year's Electronic Entertainment Eulogy.

Games I would like to see this year:

- Metro Exodus (already announced)
- Borderlands 3
- New BioShock
- Accounting Simulator 2018
- TheRedPriest VR
- Beyonce Two Souls GOTY Edition
- The Bee Movie 2 game adaption
- Chair

I've grown fond of cooking the past few years and enjoy experimenting with ideas. Granted, I'm no real chef (worked in an Italian restaurant for some time, but that's as far as it goes), but cooking has been one way for me to express some form of creativity.

If you have any signature recipes or favorite dishes you like to make at home, please share them! Doesn't matter if you're vegan, pescatarian, or a hardcore carnivore....

Also, if you'd like to request me to make something specific one evening, I'll take on the challenge so long as it isn't something outrageous or ridiculously expensive.

Foods I can make:
- Italian
- Mexican (authentic or Americanized)
- Polish
- Japanese (to an extent)
- American

Foods I have yet to make but willing to try:
- English
- Mediterranean
- Asian etc.
- Any other genre I haven't named

On top of what's listed, I'm an avid from-scratch baker (breads, desserts etc.)...


To start, I fooled around the other night and made what I call the "Big Ass Burrito" (shown below). For those familiar with joints like "Moe's Southwest Grill", "Chipotle", "Qdoba", this was my take on their burritos, and only spent around $20 on all the ingredients.

The ingredients are as follows (from bottom layer to top)

- Corn tortillas
- Shredded chicken with chipotle seasoning
- Cilantro lime rice
- Seasoned black beans
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Avocado spread
- Mild (store-bought) salsa
- "Tapatio" hot sauce

Used a loaf glass pan and layered the tortillas on the outside, over and under to "simulate" a giant burrito. Quite delicious. Baked on 325 for 15 minutes. The chicken, beans and rice was cooked prior to layering.

I am quite curious to see what you all come up with.

[insert x amount of Mega Man emojis]

Being several months late since the E3 2017 announcements, it's an absolute must to discuss...

As I'm sure everybody is aware, Metroid Prime 4 was announced. I am a die-hard fan of the first three in the series, but I remain concerned with how good the story element will be in this fourth installment. Metroid Prime itself (or herself depending on your point of view) was destroyed, the Phazon source planet annihilated... So how can this still be named "Prime" if the main antagonist is defeated? A few sources confirmed that the trilogy's story arc is complete. No more Metroid Prime/Dark Samus... Would have been better off with a new name, or better yet, replacing Prime 4 with Metroid 5.... On top of that, Bandai Namco is replacing Retro on developing the game. Despite hesitation, I'm still looking forward to seeing the gameplay and details as they unfold. Theories on the story include Sylux's return (first appearance in Prime: Hunters) as an antagonist, Samus' brother making an appearance, or a mesh of the two with Sylux being Samus' brother, which sounds pretty lame...

Then there is Metroid: Samus Returns (Metroid II remake) for 3DS, which looks beautiful. I don't currently own a 3DS (yet), so didn't have a chance to play it. There was a fan-made remake called AM2R that I managed to snag before Nintendo removed it from the web (considering they were already remaking it). The fan remake is a great game, an homage to what was thought to be a dead franchise at the time. If you had the chance to grab it before the project was shut down, I'm sure some of you may agree.

My most anticipated announcement would be an official Metroid 5, which seems to be on the backburner (if not dropped completely), with most of Nintendo's efforts going into Prime 4. The standard story MUST continue... Most hard Metroid fans are praying for any lifesigns within the long-awaited installment, but there is little to no hope left. For those that don't understand the storyline within the foundation, the order goes as follows:

1. Metroid/Metroid:Zero Mission (NES/GBA)
2. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GameBoy)
3. Super Metroid (SNES)
4. Metroid Fusion (GBA)
5. Metroid V (??)

Prime series being set on its own timeline, but supposedly happens between Metroid and Metroid II..... And Other M (yuck) right before Fusion.

So Fusion is the most "recent" progression storywise, with an interesting cliffhanger that may put Samus up against the Galactic Federation. We may never know.....


Share your feelings on the revival of the Metroid series, whether they are good vibes or bad ones. If you've had a chance to play Metroid: Samus Returns, please share your experience. I'm hoping to play it sometime soon....

I'm right here.

Been frequenting the Matrix a lot recently (since I played through the recent Mega Man collection) and was wondering what a majority of the ol' Matricians were up to. I see quite a few of y'all are still active to an extent (Mikero, Rez, Abe, a few others).

As time takes a toll on all of us, we can't forget our history, where we came from, the people we met, and the events that have shaped us into who we are today. Which is why I can't ever forget about this place or any of you folks, even if I tried.

I did post this in the Creation Station for a reason. Since I've been gone for [insert time here], I've dived into the music industry. I was in a small garage band the last few times I showed my face here, but much has happened.

A colleague from high school and I got together to mash up different genres for fun. This created our band project Still Conscious which has seen members join and bail. Our old material is located here. Our access and knowledge of technology back then wasn't efficient, therefore the quality is mediocre at best. I manipulated drums/beats and synths.

We took a hiatus to focus on college #####, but in time we got back together and reformed with two new members to recreate Still Conscious into a progressive metal band (not my cup of tea but it was something). That material is located here. Again, I was the drummer and synthist. Second warning, it is metal, so listen at your own risk. 

Some drama happened and we disbanded for good (supposedly).

Which brings me to today. My colleague and I are still producing music together while trying to bring back Still Conscious a third time. The artistic direction will not be the same as it was the last two attempts (dark wave-ish? & metal), but as of where we'll go with it is still up in the air.

Now, I'm working on a solo electronic project, completely experimental. You can find my material on the Chauffeurs YouTube page here. All of my material was written through my perspectives of life. I have one full song available (currently re-visiting) called "Metropolis" and three short demos for other songs on my album. All of my material was created through Fruity Loops & the rx Nexus2 plug-in, along with some additional tech. I produced virtually everything you hear, aside from the samples, and yes that's me whisper-singing in "Metropolis". I'll upload lil' snippets and such from time to time on here.

75% of my free time has been put into music. Other times I work on a novel thingamajigger I had ideas for. I made a teaser page for the antagonist company in the story here. I'm currently trying to revisit it, as there were too many similarities with the TV show Mr. Robot.

So that's about it for me. I gotta tell ya, while typing this up I fell into a nostalgic trance while zoning-out into the notorious blue checkerboard patterns on the walls.

Just a moment ago, I had a sudden urge for buffalo wings, as spicy as possible. Then wash down all the exotic goodness with a Mountain Dew & Murdoch's fine Scotch Whiskey. For dessert? White-chocolate raspberry cheesecake. ~<3

Mmm... I'm such a pig when it comes to food. Who isn't these days?

SHOW ME YOUR FOODS!

(share with me what your favorite foods are)

I grew into the games while I was away, trying out the SNES F-Zero at first, and liking it to an extent. Didn't really feel like the F-Zero the franchise was trying to portray.

F-Zero X is another story. That game is killer. I played it for hours on end, but never learned how to unlock any of the other damn racers. Has a good feel, easy steering, and felt just like what an F-Zero game should have, but I can't blame the SNES, really.

F-Zero GX... What a gem of a game. Incredible graphics, easy controlling, decent plot... Difficult game. Jesus #####ing Christ... this work is the high-maintenance girlfriend of the gaming industry. It's just... Impossible. Grand Prix, it's even worse. How the hell are you supposed to beat Emerald or even the Diamond cup on Master difficulty? The opponents are straight-up brutal. I've attempted Diamond on Expert, and I still get my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

Anyway, life has brought us the ever-so amazing Nintendo Wii. Does that mean a new F-Zero game will be released along with it? I'm hoping so. Online play would make me cream more than Baskin Robins.

What are your views on this game franchise? Not many people are fans of it, or any racing game for that matter, but I'd like to hear YOUR views. Experiences with the game, opinions, or information about past or perhaps future releases.