39-year old baseball superstar Curt Schilling will be making his game debut on EverQuest II starting next month, according to an announcement from Sony Online Entertainment.

Schilling’s game character will be online for three days during the Yankees vs. Red Sox baseball series June 5-7. During this time, any one can challenge the “epically awesome, loot-dropping virtual bad guy;” SOE will donate $5 (up to a maximum of $10,000) to the ALS Association, an organization that helps patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. After the three-day series, Curt’s character will remain in the game as a high-powered enemy that gamers will have to face later in the game.

In addition, SOE encourages its users to type “/ALS” within EverQuest II and donate money to the ALS Association, Curt’s charity of choice. This program will run throughout the entire three-day baseball series.

Earache Extreme Metal Racing is shaping up to be one hell of a “metal” fest - today Metro 3D has announced a joint partnership with BC Rich, manufacturer of high performance guitars and basses, to further promote the upcoming racing game that takes you to “hell” and beyond.

Shipping July 7 for the PS2, PC and PSP, EEMR sees players “burn rubber through hell and other wastelands.” Artists such as Severe Torture, Cult of Luna, Napalm Death, The Haunted and Hate Eternal, among others, have contributed to the soundtrack. Meanwhile, the following artists have been confirmed to appear as racing ‘teams’ within the game: Mortiis, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Akercocke, Decapitated, Biomechanical Municipal Waste, The Berzerker, Linea 77 and Society 1.

Extending the company’s videogame market, Microsoft has announced that it will launch the Xbox 360 console in India, which is undergoing an economic boom that has resulted in increased income and generous spending.

Microsoft plans on releasing the console in the region before Diwali on October 21. The console will be bundled along with a controller and a game for approximately 20,000 Rupees ($440 US). The company plans on rolling out 1200 retail stores in the country’s main cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad.

No sales forecast was given, though the company expects to shift around 5.5 million units by next month.

Although not currently implemented, Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has gone on record to say that Tekken 6 may feature motion sensor functionality that was unveiled at Sony’s pre-E3 conference. He went on to give an example of how it might be used – for instance, players would have to shake their way free when they are in a stranglehold.

Speaking to Japanese publication IT Media, Harada also went on to say that the fighters shown in the trailer during this E3 were still at an experimental state, and that further changes will take place until the end of the game’s development.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t comment on the game’s release date, or whether it would feature online multiplayer or not.

In its effort to make Medal of Honor: Airborne as realistic as it can be, EA today announced that they have signed a deal with Jeep to include vehicles from the company, as they were found during the second World War, in the upcoming game. The classic Willys-Overland Jeep will appear in action-packed sequences in several missions of Airborne.

Jeep played an integral role in the war effort as an indispensable tool in tracking the enemy, exchanging information and moving troops. Over 350,000 Willys Jeep vehicles were built and used during WWII, and at one point the assembly line was pushing out one vehicle every 90 seconds. When driving a Willys Jeep in Medal of Honor Airborne, the player can choose to use it as a mode of transportation, or as a mobile attack platform taking full advantage of a variety of mounted weapons. Authentic to their use in WWII, the Willys Jeep will be able to access more areas than the other drivable vehicles featured in Medal of Honor Airborne, because of Jeep vehicle’s superior four-wheel drive off-road capabilities.

MoH: Airborne is in the works at EA Los Angeles for the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Those who were looking forward to The Red Star (me included) before Acclaim went bankrupt in 2004 can now breathe a sigh of relief: the game has been picked up by XS Games who plans on publishing it this August on the PS2. The game was also slated for release on the Xbox, though the possibility of that is currently being examined by the publisher.

XS Games also announced that it had recently acquired Taito’s Raiden III, an arcade top-down shoot-em-up. This one is also slated for release this August and will carry a budget price tag. The same can’t be said for The Red Star, which is said to be somewhere in between the budget range and a full-priced game.

Grab them while they are still hot:

• Age of Empires III v1.07 on the Official Website
  
• Battlefield 2 v1.3 (full patch only) on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, Computer Games, FileFront, GameGuru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, Internode Games Network, The Patches Scrolls, Strategy Informer, VGPRO and Worthplaying
  
• Flashpoint: Germany v1.11 on Matrix Games
  
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines on v2.3 on 3D Gamers

Korea is most often said to be the mecca of gaming, and now, you know why: they have gamer-targeted drinks! Enerzen is the name of the drink which is promoted by its manufacturer directly as a gamerdrink. Thanks to DigitalBattle for the following ad translation:

“All of Youth, It is time for taking Enerzen. While your competitors are sleeping, You, brave new worker(!), should recharge your energy for the win.”

These titles were shipped:

• Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (X360)
  
• Field Commander (PSP)
  
• Jaws Unleashed
  
• Heroes of Might and Magic V
  
• Rogue Trooper

• None today

Log on to Xbox Live, and you’ll find Cadillac V-Series Collection, a DLC for Project Gotham Racing 3, adding three vehicles from the auto manufacturer to the player’s virtual garage.

The three Cadillac V-Series cars include the 400 horsepower CTS-V, the 443 horsepower XLR-V, and the 468 horsepower STS-V, the most powerful production Cadillac ever made.

These cars are now available for free on Xbox Live Marketplace. Drivers who download the pack will be able to compete for the Cadillac Elite Gamer Picture award - any Xbox Live competitor who places within the top 100 on the Nurburging F1 racetrack in any of the three Cadillac cars will be awarded this elusive gamer picture.

Following up on the recent story that a next-gen Fear Effect game was in the works, Gamespot’s Rumor Control carries word from Eidos that it is not happening.

The publisher had this to say: “Although there is no title currently in development, this is something we are considering at this time and we will update accordingly.”

THERE IS STILL HOPE! WE WANT FEAR EFFECT! WE WANT HOT LESBIAN ACTION!

Despite what you best friend tells you, Microsoft does not have any immediate plans to reduce the price of Xbox 360 when the PS3 launches this November. Chris Lewis, a representative from Microsoft Europe addressed the persistent rumor by stating that the company has “no plans to make any price adjustment” seeing how the 360 offers a “great value proposition” and that they are not “forcing the consumer down a route with HD playback.”

In related news, it seems that people just can’t wait to get their hands on the PS3. According to reports from several stores in the UK, people are “begging” to let them pre-order the pricey console. No matter how much the price ($800 in the region), gamers have already started going crazy for the PS3, proving that Sony still has major brand power and a loyal customer base.

And you thought you were the best at toilet humor: Codemasters has announced that it has signed “The Turds” - their first free casual game that resurrects the “cult character” brand.

The publisher has signed a deal that will see The Turds starring in a series of free web games developed by Pilot Interactive. So what exactly are The Turds?

The Turds are a collection of roguish comedic characters born from the best of toilet humour. The Turds satirise known characters from film, entertainment and sport, such as The Bogfather, Freddy Pooger, The Turdinator, Wayne Pooney, and characters from history, including Shat the Ripper, Brave Fart, and, of course, Adolf Sh*tler . Pacemaker UK’s range of The Turds figurines, posters, and soft toys has fast established a multi-million business with a loyal fan base that has been extended internationally.

Donkey Pong and The Adventures of Rimdiana Jones is now live for those who will not be offended by the following bits of text:

Donkey Pong And The Adventures Of Rimdiana Jones sees plopular action hero, Rimdiana Jones, and agent Marilyn Muckroe, on a search for the legendary fartifact, the Lost Arse. However, disaster strikes: Marilyn is captured by giant ape-sh*t, Donkey Pong, and is to be sacrificed to a mysterious giant turd, worshipped by the lost Pongo Tribe.

Can Rimdy get his gal back and find his Lost Arse? To rescue Marilyn Muckroe, help Rimdy jump, run, climb and smash his way to the top of each increasingly difficult level. Watch out for those evil Islanders and pray your nostrils don’t catch a blood curdling wiff of the mighty Pong!

The Magic Box is playing host to some fantastic non-scanned images of Final Fantasy XIII. They aren’t very high-res, but beautiful-looking, nonetheless.

Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery. My English teacher taught me that, and It seems Nintendo believes in the same philosophy too: Shigeru Miyamoto, often referred to as the “father of modern videogaming,” commented that Sony’s inclusion of motion sensing in their “DualShake” controller proves that the Wii is on the right track. Here’s what he had to say:

It’s kind of what always seems to happen. But the fact that they looked at what we were doing and decided it was a good path is kind of flattering; it kind of reinforces in our minds that we’re doing the right thing.

What they’ve done is just take your standard controller and add in this motion-sensing device that’s similar to what we did back on the Game Boy Color many years ago. Maybe if they were to completely copy and go with a remote and a nunchuk and two motion sensors, I might be a little more concerned. But I don’t think they’re anywhere close to that.

He also talked about his rivals’ performances at E3, saying that “it’s the same old experiences with new graphics,” referring to Sony and Microsoft’s plans for the “HD era”. The man also talked about the Japanese reaction to the Wii name; he also addressed worries that the new controller would be too cumbersome for casual gamers.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Peter Moore isn’t so forgiving. In an interview with EuroGamer, he remarked that the PS3 controller doesn’t have him worried:

At Microsoft we did the same controller six years ago - most people remember that,” Moore said. “The gamers’ response was muted at best. We remember it being applicable to flying games in particular and some driving games but overall there was somewhat of a collective yawn from the gaming community about the motion sensing technology.

Alluding to the removal of rumble in Sony’s PS3 controller, he commented that it’s “[not] a good trade off in itself.” Even the exorbitant (to most) price is commented on, but he concludes by saying that “Sony’s a great company,” and that it knows what it is doing.