A patch update for FIFA 13 corrects the “invisible ball,” plus other glitches and crashes folks had complained about.

What Do You Know, All This Time And We’ve Got ‘QTE’ Wrong

Yesterday, I ran an article looking for your favorite Quicktime Events. The quicktime event, commonly just called a “QTE,” is a long-derided trend in video games where players are forced to quickly match button presses to on-screen cues, usually during otherwise noninteractive cutscenes. QTEs are sort of a shortcut to shoehorn bullshitty interaction into cutscenes,…

Pol Who Wanted Warning Labels on Violent Games Loses Re-Election

U.S. Rep. Joe Baca, who had long wanted cigarette-style warning labels slapped on violent video games, won’t be headed back to Capitol Hill. He lost re-election yesterday in a redistricting arrangement which had him pitted against a fellow Democrat for a seat in a differently-numbered district. Baca, a seven-term incumbent, sought three times, unsuccessfully, to…

It’s Hide ‘n Seek Multiplayer With The Wii U’s First Indie Game

Nintendo’s new Wii U console isn’t even out yet, but there’s already a group of funky game designers putting together a cool, arty game for it. The game in question is Chasing Aurora, a simple, papercraft-style flying game in which you take control of one of few sky-rats, more commonly known as “birds.” The game…

How To Prepare Dishonored‘s Only Appetizing Dish

I loved Dishonored‘s dank, diseased city of Dunwall. It felt so fully realized, and had so much character. A lot of that came from the food. Like Bioshock before it, most of Dishonored‘s characters leave food lying around. As the protagonist Corvo meanders from room to room, he’ll often take stabbing-breaks to eat everything that’s…

Midweek Moneysaver: Assassin‘s Nation

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. • Assassin’s Creed 3 (360, PS3) is $44.99, free shipping from eBay Deals. Next best is $54 at NewEgg. Elsewhere $60. [Dealzon] • Yesterday’s release Halo…

Far Cry 3‘s Story Still Looks Kinda Dumb; I Still Want To Play It

Today Ubisoft sent out the latest “story trailer” for Far Cry 3. That term, these days, has come to mean a trailer that will tell us about the story of the game—as opposed to a “Multiplayer trailer” and a “Gameplay trailer.” I like that video games are so complicated that they require multiple trailer-genres just…

Inside Line Still Finds a Hard Left in NASCAR Country

Because of their high fidelity physics and the crude way in which a standard console controller is equipped to handle them, motorsports simulations may be the most demanding genre of any video game. When I fired up NASCAR the Game: Inside Line, rather than jump straight into my career I tried to repeat a moment…

What’s Good (And Bad) About The Wii U Before You Even Turn it On

We’ve got ourselves a brand new Wii U. Let’s take a close-up look. Nintendo’s new console is the first new home console since 2006, and as you can see, it’s exciting and shiny. Well. Shiny until you get your fingerprints all over it, you disgusting human. Watch the video for my initial impressions on the…

The Next Uncharted Game is Not Really an Uncharted Game

I told you not to get too excited. The next Uncharted game will be a “casino/card game”, according to its Brazilian ratings clasification. Called Uncharted: Fight for Fortune, it’s for the PlayStation Vita, and given its lack of marketing to the point where it’s being revealed by ratings boards, you can bet it’ll be a…

DayZ Developers Not Pleased About Real-Money Mod

The stakes almost always feel high in the zombie-survival game DayZ. Your life can end at any moment, and from any of a huge number of causes, and if you die, you’ll lose all your precious gear and have to start over. But what if the stakes were raised, what if you were actually losing…

This Trailer for the New Karateka Makes A Hilarious Reference to the Classic Apple II Version

Gamers of a certain age remember the dramatic opening to Jordan Mechner’s classic fighting adventure. But what happened before our hero stormed Akuma’s castle? How’d he learn how to fight? The video—which hypes up today’s release of a Karateka re-make— above answers some of those questions in really funny fashion. You can grab the game…

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm Will Miss 2012

The first StarCraft II expansion is currently in beta, and many hoped that it would be out by the end of this year, but Blizzard shot down those hopes during an investors call today. Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime says they’re shooting for the first half of 2013. Heart of the Swarm will bring with it…

Learn How To Initiate The Weirdest New Hero In Assassin’s Creed III

This is a bit of an Assassin’s Creed III secret spoiler, so proceed with caution. Have we proceeded with caution? Good. Now watch the video above to find out how to turn a lowly turkey into a…*drum roll please*…assassin turkey! DUN DUN DUN. ATTACK OF THE ASSASSIN TURKEY. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like assassin turkey…

The Most Gaming-Friendly Phone Carrier Going

Since my first clunky flip-phone to my most recent handset I’ve been an unwavering AT&T loyalist. Every couple of years I upgrade to the latest model, extending my obligation without considering the alternatives. After a meeting last month with T-Mobile to discuss its gaming strategy, my loyalties are beginning to waver. T-Mobile wants to be…

Why Did I Become A PC Gamer? Because It’s the Cheapest Way to Play.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “PC? Oh hell no. That’s way too expensive and complicated. I like my 360 just fine.” There’s something to be said for that. We’ve reviewed many a high powered, high-priced machine here at Kotaku, and even the peripherals can add up. $300 for an Xbox 360, with…

It Takes A Lot Of Skill To Make This Brand-New Planetside 2 Case Look So Very Old

Sony’s upcoming massively multiplayer first person shooter Planetside 2 doesn’t launch until November 20. But the custom New Conglomerate-themed PC that MNPtech built for SOE creative designer Matt Higby is ready right on time. The case on its own is pretty spectacular, but the galleries showing how much work it took to make something so…

Hundreds of Obamas and Romneys Go To War In This Ridiculous-Looking Mod

Polls? Numbers? Speeches? Boring. The real presidential election this year was won through waves of Obama and Romney soldiers, battling against each other using the sharp end of their signs and placards. The mod, created by Reddit user matbitesdog, is used in Medieval II: Total War, and you can download it for laughs here. Those…

I Should Love This Demon Collecting Game, But I Just Don’t Get It

I love collectible card games. I love anime art. I love leveling up strange creatures, melding them together to form more powerful entities. I just can’t love Zynga’s Ayakashi Ghost Guild, or any of the new breed of collector games popping up on mobile devices lately. The formula followed by Ayakashi and games like it…

If You Play 140 Hours Of Halo 4 Multiplayer This Month, Microsoft Will Give You $7.50

So Microsoft is running a new promotion. It’s called the “Halo 4 Combat Tour,” and its purpose is to encourage you to play lots of Halo and buy lots of Halo-related things. “The more you do, the more you get,” Microsoft says. They’ll give you Microsoft Points—Xbox Live’s confusing digital currency—if you play an excessive…