NEWOSSIP

I went to college with this guy!

SEATTLE — Seattle police believe a missing father was a victim of a random crime or took off after he didn’t make it home to bake Valentine’s Day cookies with his 4-year-old daughter.

“We really don’t know what happened to him,” Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Department told FOX News.

Nicholas Francisco, 28, was reported missing by his family after he didn’t come home after work on Feb. 13. Christine Francisco, his wife, said he called her from work saying he was “signing off on something” and would be home after running an errand. When he wasn’t home by bedtime, Christine got scared.

Fox news

All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray DVD camp, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-generation game in town.

Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement issued Wednesday to The Hollywood Reporter: “We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer,” the statement read. “As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly.”

Reuters

Onaxis writes: “Well, here it is, the PlayStation Store update for February 21, 2008, the week of the Game Developers Conference 2008. Do we get any special content? Lets take a look.

PSone Games

* Jet Moto 3 ($5.99)

Demos

* PixelJunk Monsters demo (free)

Add-Ons

* PAIN Character Add-On: Hung Lo (free)
* PAIN Single-Player Fun With Explosives Add-On (free)
* Rock Band Song Add-Ons
o Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots ($1.99)
o El Scorcho by Weezer ($1.99)
o Why Do You Love Me by Garbage ($1.99)

Game Videos

* MLB 08 The Show Replay Vault Tutorial (free)
* MLB 08 The Show Pitcher Batter Analysis Tutorial (free)
* MLB 08 The Show Stolen Base Video (free)
* Conflict: Denied Ops Dev. Diary 4 (free)
* Bionic Commando: Rearmed Trailer (free)

Onaxis

After years of waiting that were lengthened by numerous delays, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has finally hit the shelves of Japan. While most gamers will have to wait until March (or later, for those outside of North America) to get their hands on this title, an estimated 500,000 copies have fallen into the hands of players in Japan, including myself. After putting quite a bit of time into this game, I would have to say that it was most definitely worth the wait, and that those still waiting have something to get excited about.

From the very beginning, Brawl is indeed quite different from the previous entry in the series on the Gamecube, Melee. “More items, more characters, and more features” could be used to sum everything up. And while many fans of the last entry wanted something along these lines, the results are not what most expected. The game has caused quite a stir among many competitive players, but most will find almost every change welcome, especially making the game more balanced for players who aren’t as serious.

Going into the launch of this game, I decided to re-acclimate myself with the Smash universe, and play through Melee to get ready. Having not played on a truly competitive level, but still being aware of the more advanced tactics that are used in higher level play, I was curious to see whether or not these would be retained in Brawl. And indeed, many will find that these have not been carried over. This is probably due to the fact that most of those things were merely exploits or glitches in the game, and not truly meant to be there. I’m personally glad this was the case, as it makes the game a great deal more accessible to casual players, especially new players that have never experienced the series before.

ThunderBoltGames

The beauty of Endless Ocean is that players can do as much or as little as they like. The relaxed and calm atmosphere of the game gives divers the freedom to explore special locations such as shipwrecks and underwater ruins, discover and interact with sea-life, complete fish logs or simply relax in the soothing environment. The game opens with players onboard a diving boat, with a crew member who provides advice and tips on finding the best locations for fish and helps players advance the storyline. Players must assume the role of the diver, opting to go into the water to explore sea-life at their own pace utilising tools such as a camera or fish bait. In the cabin on the boat, divers can access the fish log to check out the fish that have been spotted, as well as carry out missions like photographing marine life. These missions unlock content, such as new items to use underwater, or different diving gear that can be used to customize the diver. Navigating their way through the depths using the Wii remote, players guide their character using the pointer’s cursor, visible as a bright blue dot. When players wish to interact with fish or plants they can highlight them with the pointer and press the A Button. By doing so, players discover new species and build up their fish log. What’s more you can also befriend companions like a dolphin which will become your partner and with whom you can train and swim with.

Nintendo