Did You Ever Want Hot Chicks and Loads of Free Games?

Well This is not the place to find them. But If you Think you can do a better job of posting or reporting on news stories? Prove it. OLGn is searching for talented writers to assist in the site’s daily news writing duties.

We are looking for smart, capable freelance news writers to lend a hand in daily coverage of gaming news on OLGn.net. Here is the kicker: All of these positions are voluntary! *Gasp!* What, you don’t make a load of cash from the site? HAHAHA … don’t let the ads around this site fool you – OLGn is about as financially profitable as, ‘trying to hit Bill Gates up for a loan’.

Put simply, we’re looking to grow, and I’m going to need your help. I opened the doors at OLGn a little over 6 years ago now and it’s been just me working this site and I need some help. People have said in the past that “Hay, I will help” post 3 or 4 times and POOF! never to be seen again. It’s not instant fame or easy money you have to love games and writing about them.

The Basics:
You keep the copyright to your work posted to OLGn Under the site wide Creative Commons license. So feel free to post what you post on OLGn on your blog, just give a link back is all we ask.

1. You must search the internet for worthwhile news stories. Examples of news worthy material: Nearly everything having to do with Xbox, wii, PS3, PC, Apple, PSP, DS, Previews or Reviews of Games. You can write articles about games, computer, internet or technology in your life not just news.
2. Must have good grammar
3. Must be willing to devote time, not just posting once a month

Even though it’s voluntary, Please stick to deadlines or a schedule when posting.

You might Ask What Do I get from all the *Cough* Work! You’ll get your own @olgn.net email address and the smugness of being able to say you work in the “Gaming Industry” as a Free Lance writer. Occasionally you’ll get freebies from game publishers, but that won’t happen often unless pig’s can fly.

If you stick around and all work together, one day we might even be able to pay you or hell even pay for hosting! Sound good to you? Fill out the form below.

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Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath Released and already On sale

The PC version of Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath, is on sale this week at Circuit City for the low low price of $17.99 with $12 off the retail price. This sale is only for the PC sorry 360 fans, it looks like full retail price for you.

Mar. 25, 2008 The Messiah has risen again! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that Command & Conquer(TM) 3: Kane’s Wrath has shipped to retail outlets in North America and Europe for the PC. The expansion pack to last year’s award-winning(2) real-time strategy game Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars(TM), Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath introduces a new, hand-crafted campaign spanning two decades of Tiberium lore, six sub-factions and game-changing epic units to the Command & Conquer universe. And gamers who purchase Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath or the Command & Conquer 3 Limited Collection will also receive an exclusive key to the Command & Conquer(TM) Red Alert(TM) 3 beta starting this summer.

“The success of Tiberium Wars showed us that despite a five year hiatus, the fast, fluid and fun gameplay, deep storyline and live-action cinematics that make up the DNA of Command & Conquer still resonate with gamers,” said Jim Vessella, Kane’s Wrath producer. “With Kane’s Wrath we wanted to take the fiction further by tackling the stories our fans have been asking us to explore. This gave us a great opportunity to introduce new sub-factions and units that complement those stories while adding depth and variety to our core gameplay experience.”

Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath’s 13-mission single player campaign focuses on the rebirth of the Brotherhood of Nod after the Second Tiberium War through the dramatic events of the Third Tiberium War and beyond. The story is told through over 30 minutes of high-definition, full-motion videos starring Natasha Henstridge (Species, Eli Stone), Carl Lumbly (Alias) and Joe Kucan as Kane. The campaign introduces six-all new sub-factions that add a wealth of new toys and powers to the armies of the Tiberium universe’s three clashing superpowers, the Global Defense Initiative, Brotherhood of Nod and the Scrin, giving them nine sides to choose from in multiplayer. Players will also get an added bonus feature in the new Global Conquest Mode, which allows commanders to create their own campaigns for world domination with an infinitely replayable strategic layer added to the frenzied, tactical combat they know and love.

The Xbox 360(TM) version of Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath will be released this summer, debuting a revolutionary new CommandStick interface that takes RTS console controls to a whole new level of simplicity and usability. The standalone title also features 50 multiplayer maps and the Xbox 360 exclusive “Kane’s Challenge”, a single player mode that pits the player against a terrifying gauntlet of sub-faction opponents.

For the latest on Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath and everything Command & Conquer please visit http://www.CommandAndConquer.com, home of Command & Conquer TV, the franchise’s dedicated online programming channel. This Friday, the channel’s flagship show, “BattleCast PrimeTime” will feature an in-studio interview with Kane himself, Joe Kucan, along with highlights from the very first Command & Conquer 3 Kane’s Wrath fan matches and more!

New Battlefield: Bad Company Game Play Trailer

EA sends over a brand new trailer for the upcoming FPS game, Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3/X360).

St. Patrick’s day and Games Shipping this Week

Happy St. Patrick’s day! Here are the games expected to ship this week to a store near you:
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2: Head back to Sin City with this tactical shooter sequel from UbiSoft for the Xbox 360 and PS3 (The PC game has been pushed back to April some time)

Sega Superstars Tennis: The characters in the Segaverse play some tennis in this sports game for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS3, Wii, and DS
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds: Sony release this latest game in the arcade golf series for the PS3
Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends: Koei releases their latest hack-and-slash action game for the PS2.
Singstar 90’s: Sony releases this latest game in their PS2 karaoke game series
Worms: A Space Oddity: Team 17 and THQ release this latest game in the long running turn based strategy series for the Wii.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2008: Konami’s soccer game ships for the Wii platform this week.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot: Delayed for a week, Monolith and Sega’s melee based action-horror game ships for the PS3 platform this week.
Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection: Konami re-releases the last three Metal Gear Solid games in a new collection for the PS2.

Xbox360 and Blu-Ray? Not any time soon!

The talk around the net over the last few weeks since the HD-DVD death was that the Xbox 360 was possibly going too support Blu-Ray in the future. That rumor has now been officially shot down by Microsoft. Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for the console, came right out and told Reuters:

“Xbox is not currently in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Association to integrate Blu-ray into the Xbox experience.” He followed it up by saying that they’re the only console “offering digital distribution of entertainment content.”

Since the discontinuation of the HD-DVD player add-on, it looks like Xbox Live Marketplace is now the only option for Xbox users looking for HD entertainment. Thats just want I want to do with my cash and time. So I run out and buy a bigger hard drive for my 360. Then pay for a movie download then spend 2 - 12 hours downloading it just to watch it ONLY on my Xbox 360. hmmmm NOT!

One more Gaming league Down the Tubes - The CPL has closed

Citing financial concerns the Cyberathlete Professional League has ceased operations and cancelled all future events, eleven years after being first launched:

Effective immediately, the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) will cease operations. Therefore, all CPL events currently scheduled for 2008 are hereby canceled.The CPL was launched in June 1997 with the pioneering mission of promoting and sanctioning video game competitions as a professional sport. For ten years the CPL events experienced increased growth - commencing with a small LAN event in Dallas, Texas, and culminating in world-class competitions across five continents.

However, the current fragmentation of the sport, a crowded field of competing leagues, and the current economic climate have prompted the CPL to suspend its pro-tournament operations. The CPL regrets that this news will disappoint those that were planning on attending the summer and winter events this year.

Many thanks to all of the sponsors and partners that helped CPL establish the groundwork for professional video game competitions. Their vision and pioneering spirit should always be remembered.

The CPL was in the process of developing Severity with Tom Mustaine’s Escalation Studios, and had planned to release it on all major formats. Severity was designed from the ground-up as a pro-gaming title and was to be used for many of the CPL’s major tournaments - with the CPL out of business it is quite possible that Severity’ll be canned, though we are attempting to contact Escalation to confirm its fate.

BioShock 2 Announced for 2009 Release

BioShock was the biggest sleeper hit of 2007. While those who follow games from developer Irrational (now 2K Boston and 2K Australia) knew that BioShock was going to be something special, the late-summer shooter of last year quickly became a media and critical darling. It is no surprise then, that parent company Take-Two Interactive has announced that BioShock 2, which could end up being a prequel, is currently in the works.

The game is expected to hit sometime between August and October 2009, two years after the first game. The team(s) that handled the first game won’t be on the next BioShock, as new development house 2K Marin will be taking over. But fear not, BioShock fans, as 2K Marin is composed of several individuals who worked on the first BioShock, and designer Ken Levine will still be contributing to the upcoming title.

Microsoft And US Army To Sponsor Halo 3 Tournament

Microsoft announced plans to hold a Halo 3 Championship Tournament, co-sponsored by the US Army. The tournament will be preceded by three online “Training Schools” where players will learn new tips and tricks in “Sniper School”, “Heavy Weapons” and “Vehicles”. The registration for the actual tournament begins in February with prizes like Halo 3 artwork, Microsoft points and more.

Microsoft and U.S. Army Present First Ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament on Xbox LIVE

Microsoft announces a winner-take-all “Halo 3” tournament March 2008; Gamers can prepare for battle with a series of Basic Combat Training exercises starting Christmas Day 

More than five million gamers have been glued to their Xbox 360s since the launch of “Halo 3” on Sept. 25., including scores of fans in the U.S. Army.  Microsoft Game Studios and the U.S. Army today announced that U.S. gamers will have a chance to prove their fragging skills in the first ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament, hosted exclusively on Xbox LIVE.  The tournament kicks off this March, complete with prizes for winners and finalists, and registration will begin in February.

In preparation for any battle, a soldier must train and prepare for combat. As such, gamers will have the opportunity to participate in a series of Basic Combat Training exercises leading up to the tournament kick-off. Registration for these training sessions begins on Dec. 18, and the games begin on Dec. 25, exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

Designed specifically to prepare gamers for the Championship Tournament, these Basic Combat Training sessions will help gamers hone their skills with different weapons groups by setting up specific games where only one or two focus weapons will be available to play. Winners of these Basic Combat Training competitions will receive prizes, including Microsoft Points, exclusive “Halo 3” art, and more.

The Basic Combat Training schedule is as follows:

•  Registration begins: 12/18, Training begins: 12/25 – Sniper School
• Registration begins: 1/8, Training begins: 1/15 – Heavy Weapons
• Registration begins: 2/5, Training begins: 2/12– Vehicles
• Registration begins: TBA February, Tournament begins: TBA March – Championship Tournament

To further ensure that players are trained to the top of their games, the Army is also hosting a Destination Experience blade on Xbox LIVE. When the program begins, gamers will be able to access the blade via their Xbox LIVE dashboard, gaining access to multiple videos and a Tips and Tricks section dedicated to providing the best combat strategies and advice the Army experts have to offer.

Training registration opens Dec. 18. Gamers should watch Xbox LIVE and xbox.com for upcoming registration details, full contest rules and regulations.

DMC4 demo confirmed for early 2008

A downloadable demo of Devil May Cry 4 should be available over Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Store in early 2008, Capcom announced in a press release today. The demo will showcase new protagonist Nero over a variety of locales before culminating in a battle against Berial. Players can use a variety of the new abilities bestowed by Nero’s devil bringer in the demo, including “the ability to slam creatures to the ground, cover great distances in a single bound or even grab enemies while on the ground or in the air and pull them towards Nero to continue the attack combo.”

Capcom also announced a new weapon, named Lucifer, which fires glowing red swords that pierce enemies and explode when Dante throws a rose, which he holds between his teeth. Kay. Capcom also announced a new boss, One Winged “Dark Knight.”

Keep in mind the game is scheduled for a February 2008 release, so it’s entirely possible the demo will come out in very close proximity to the game. The press release says players will have a chance to play the demo before purchasing the game, but whether that means the demo is coming out before the game or not is unclear.

Capcom also released a bunch of hi-res screenshots and some artwork, so look for those and the full press release after the jump.

Full Story »

Microsoft Does It Again Screwing the Little Guy

The geniuses over at Microsoft have done it again. The new scam for Xbox Live is to make Silver members wait a full week before they can download any demos off of the service. Hay Dumb Ass the goal of a demo is to get consumers to buy the full game. Here’s the deal:

When people talk about features they’d like to see added to an Xbox Live Gold subscription, dedicated servers, expanded buddy lists or separate bandwidth pipes for popular downloads are first to mind. Instead of adding features to the Gold experience, however, they’re “enhancing” Gold subscriptions by continuing a practice started last summer of stripping Silver members of features and making them Gold-only.

The latest? Playable demos are no longer available right away for Silver members. Instead, they’ll have to wait a full week before they’re allowed access. Starting with the Fall update, Silver users will start seeing a red circle with a slash through content that’s currently inaccessible.

[Source 1Up]