BioWare has confirmed that the Mass Effect 3 "From Ashes" DLC that leaked on Xbox Live Marketplace yesterday is one of the items included with the Collector's Edition. The extra character, mission and outfits will also be sold separately (at 800 MSP / $10) for owners of the game's standard version.

Mass Effect 3 producer Michael Gamble hit the BioWare forums to clarify some stuff surrounding the exact components of the DLC. You'll want to avoid it if you don't want to learn the identity of what we shall tactfully refer to as "the extra, downloadable person."

[Thanks, Patrick.]

So, remember how EA and Bioware are launching six copies of Mass Effect 3 into (near) space? Well, they're still doing that, and now there's a trailer about it that you can watch.

The trailer itself is not particularly informative, but the press release delivered with said trailer actually contained some cool information about the event. Specifically, students from the High Altitude Balloon Club at Texas A&M University will be assisting with each of the six launch sites around the world.

Once the event is complete, EA will be donating all of the equipment used during the publicity stunt to A&M's Aerospace Engineering department, which will then take the gear to Alaska and use it study the aurora borealis. We're glad to hear this advertising campaign will benefit a group of bright youngsters, and that EA isn't shelling out a presumably massive load of cash just to launch some games into space.

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Tiny trucks will take their places on PS3 and Vita on March 6, when MotorStorm RC arrives on the North American PSN, letting you experience the best of the series in little toy trucks. You'll be able to download the same game on both platforms, and buying one gives you access to the other.

If you're playing on PS3, you'll get "SimulView" same-screen support (for TVs fancy enough to support it), 3D, and split-screen four-player. If you're playing on Vita, you're playing on a Vita! Wow!

Real-life guitar hero Slash was in Los Angeles last week promoting a new music game called BandFuse: Rock Legends. Speaking to Joystiq, he shared some insight on what it was like to work with Activision for the immensely popular Guitar Hero series. "A lot of kids tripped out," says the former Guns and Roses guitarist, "because they were under the impression that the character in Guitar Hero was just that character. So a lot of kids trip out that I was actually a real person."

Once they found out that he was an actual person who was in an actual band, however, Slash says Guitar Hero was surprisingly effective at winning new fans. "It opened up the doors of a demographic that was way younger than me," he says. "I had no idea that would happen." He couldn't speak to the lawsuit that claims the game took advantage of his GnR connection, but he does say the game has inspired a much younger generation to check out classic rock.

As for interest going the other way, Slash says he hasn't found the time for video games -- not even his own. "I couldn't play it," he says, "because I was actually in the game and it was too surreal."

Asura's Wrath is a pile of impossibilities. It is a myth made real. It is a meticulous construction of unflappable absurdity. Asura's Wrath is a glittering, golden starchild of incredulity, and I love it. I also wish I didn't have to review it.

The strictures of a review really aren't adequate to quantify the experience waiting for players in Asura's Wrath. Of course there are mechanics and systems and gauges, all of that, and I will endeavor to explain them, but understand that what follows falls well short of fully encapsulating the experience. About 380,000 kilometers too short.

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Over the last few years or so, the "guitar game" genre has had one of the craziest journeys in video game history. From the huge early success of Harmonix' Guitar Hero to the company's split into Rock Band and the final proclamation that Guitar Hero was finished, the epic story of plastic instruments and the games that came with them has gone from prelude to climax to quiet hum, all in the space of a few years.

And there have already been a few "post-modern" guitar games, most notably Power Gig: Rise of the Six-String and Rocksmith, which both involve real guitars rather than their plastic counterparts, and which suggest that strumming along with real songs and strings might actually teach real musical skill (a promise that neither was able to land with great success).

And so it's interesting that Realta Entertainment Group has chosen this moment to step out with its premiere product, called BandFuse: Rock Legends. It's a music game that uses a real, live electric guitar, plugged into a video game console, as its controller. We've ... we've been down this road before, right?

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Commander Shepard is a man? It was the greatest lie ever created in future history. BioWare sought to fix this, admitting the savior of Earth (and the galaxy at large) could be recast as female.

Well, it seems the developer has gone one step further and slipped in the female Shepard on the reverse cover of Mass Effect 3 (standard edition). Sure, she's not black yet, but we'll take a partial truth for the time being.

Check out BioWare's unboxing video after the break.

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Borderlands 2 will be out in North America on September 18, and internationally on September 21. That date might be enough incentive for you to pre-order -- it's so far away, and you might forget! -- but 2K offered initial incentive, in the form of the "Premiere Club."

Premiere Club members will get a unique "Gearbox Gun Pack," a "Golden Key" item to unlock something in the Golden Sanctuary Loot Chest, and the "Vault Hunter's Relic." These are all in-game items, by the way. 2K didn't really build a "Golden Sanctuary" and send out keys to it.

Another big Vita week for the PSN update. Last week's "early" launch saw the additions of Escape Plan, Hustle Kings, and Super Stardust Delta -- that last one being the free 3G game. This week we see the addition of Touch My Katamari, perennial favorite Plants vs. Zombies and several augmented reality. Of course, for further pertinent PS Vita information, head on over to our Joystiq Vita launch guide.

PSN Plus subscribers can pick up six classic Sega titles for free this week, which includes the first two Sonic the Hedgehog titles, Golden Axe (call dibs on dwarf!) and Altered Beast. Also, don't forget to check out the demos for SSX and Shank 2. Check out the full list of this week's content over on the PlayStation Blog.

The Starhawk public beta went live last night in North America and is available today across Europe. No more caveats or purchases required to get into the sci-fi shooter's beta. Just head on over to the PSN and download the thing.