Category: Gamespot

Final Fantasy XIV‘s ongoing network issues are the result of DDoS attacks, according to publisher Square Enix. In a post on the game’s official website the company offered an update on server problems that have plagued the game since the launch of its newest expansion, Stormblood.

The update states North American servers are being attacked and that the technical team is having some trouble resolving the issues.

“We have confirmed that since June 16th, we have been experiencing DDoS attacks from an anonymous third-party targeting the Final Fantasy XIV game servers on the NA data center,” reads the post.

“Our technical staff is taking every possible measure to address this issue but the attack is still continuing to take place by changing their methods at every moment. We will continue to monitor and work on recovery from every possible angle.”

As noted in the post, DDoS attacks are designed to flood serves with information so that it struggles to handle the load, thus crippling performance. DDoS attacks are often concerted efforts involving numerous PCs all targeting the same servers.

“Due to this attack, our game servers, network equipment, and network connection are being hit with heavy load at an extensive level, which is causing a disconnection from the game and login difficulties,” Square Enix added. “Our technical staff is continuing to work on countermeasures for this issue.”

The company also assured players that, despite the attacks, the personal information connected to Final Fantasy XIV accounts is not in danger.

“With the attack we are currently experiencing, only a massive number of access attempts are being made, so character data and personal information registered to our customers’ accounts are not in danger of being exposed.”

An early-access period for Stormblood began on June 16 for anyone who pre-ordered the game, but all players were allowed onto game servers on June 20, with the official launch of the expansion. A big patch for the game was recently released and we got the chance to talk with the company about reinventing the MMO for beginners.

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Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen has indicated his next game, The Legend of Bum-Bo, will be released for the Nintendo Switch. McMillen was fielding questions on Twitter and when asked by a follower whether the game would get a Switch release he said, “I think so yeah.”

The Legend of Bum-Bo was announced in March 2016, but little has been seen of it since. McMillen is working on it alongside collaborators James Id and Ridiculon, and the game is described as a “turn-based puzzle RPG type thingy that’s randomly generated.”

The Legend of Bum-Bo’s stylised logo hints at a connection to The Binding of Isaac and McMillen also teased the link when posting about it on the Isaac blog.

“But why is this on the Isaac blog?!,” he asked. “What does this have to do with Isaac? When Isaac!? Isaac? Isaac! Why!? Well I’m sure those questions will be answered in the coming months once we tease a bit more.”

The End Is Nigh, an adventure platformer from McMillen, is also set for release on the Nintendo Switch. Although the Steam version launches on on July 12, the Switch release is set for an as of yet undisclosed date in the future.

The End is Nigh is set after the “end of the world.” Players control Ash, one of the few “things” to survive the apparent apocalypse. You must guide Ash through nightmarish levels filled with “decaying” mutant creatures, collecting video game cartridges and tumors along the way.

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Call of Duty: WWII‘s multiplayer debuted with a trailer during Sony’s E3 press conference last week. Aside from playable female soldiers, a Destiny-like social space, and the new Divisions mode, which replaces the series’ create a class system, we came into E3 knowing very little about WWII’s multiplayer.

During E3, however, I got a chance to sit down and play a few matches. I learned a lot more about Divisions and loadouts, but most notably, I got my hands on the brand-new, narrative-driven War mode. And while Team Deathmatch is still fast-paced and fun with WWII weapons, War stands out as the mode that will make me keep coming back to WWII’s multiplayer.

War casts you as either the Axis or Allies in a scripted scenario. The mission I played had the Allies escorting a tank through an Axis-controlled area with the Axis team defending. The first step as the Allies was to take control of a building by capturing a point inside. Next, we had to rebuild a bridge while under Axis fire, which is done by approaching and holding a button, similar to performing repairs in CoD’s past Zombies modes. Each objective is timed, and failure to complete a section within the set amount of time as the Allies meant an Axis victory (for this mission, at least).

The biggest difference compared to something like Team Deathmatch or Domination–which we also played in the same sitting–is that I was far more concerned with choosing the right loadout for my team rather than ensuring I had my preferred weapon. That’s not new for team-based multiplayer but is incredibly refreshing for Call of Duty, and I relished the chance to try weapons I wouldn’t have under typical circumstances. I never snipe in TDM, for example, but I got the chance to try it out in order to cover my teammates who were in the line of fire while rebuilding the all-important bridge. It’s a great way to get used to the new Divisions system, too.

I was far more concerned with choosing the right loadout for my team rather than ensuring I had my preferred weapon.

Along those same lines, this structure also provides more room to take on different roles than in other CoD multiplayer modes. As a frequent TDM player, I’m very used to going for a high number of kills and a positive kill-death ratio, so providing smoke grenade support or planting explosives is a nice break from the tried-and-true modes we’re all used to. The biggest obstacle is team communication, which wasn’t possible in the E3 environment and would have improved our chances of victory quite a bit

Overall, Call of Duty: WWII’s multiplayer isn’t bogged down by a return to human–rather than superhuman–soldiers. The same classic modes are still fast and require a quick trigger finger, even with slower reload times and much shorter jumps. And some of the best sound design in the series means that gunfire and explosions feel closer and more exhilarating than before. But War is the mode that could reignite my desire to play a ton of CoD multiplayer, and I’m excited to try more during the beta in August.

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Nintendo’s new Switch console has been in short supply since it launched this past March, but US residents may have a chance to pick one up from a select GameStop store in the next week.

The video game retailer has announced it is receiving more Switch consoles “at select stores across the country.” Unfortunately, there isn’t a particular day prospective Switch owners can come in to pick up a console; according to a representative from the company, units “will arrive at different times throughout the week due to shipping” and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

The representative also confirmed that standalone Switch consoles will only be sold in-store. GameStop’s website will offer the system exclusively in bundle form. One such bundle includes a copy of the recently released Arms along with a Joy-Con charging dock and other Switch accessories for $463.

Nintendo showcased several upcoming Switch titles during its E3 2017 presentation. In addition to showing off more footage of Super Mario Odyssey (which we got to try at the expo), the company announced a release window for the open-world RPG Xenoblade Chronicles 2, released a new trailer for the hack-and-slash Fire Emblem spinoff Fire Emblem Warriors, and announced new Kirby, Yoshi, and Metroid Prime titles for the console.

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A new Nintendo Switch update is now available, bringing with it a range of new features as well as overall performance improvements. Crucially, the update addresses an issue with certain TVs that caused HDMI inputs to change when the Switch was docked in sleep mode.

Other features introduced as part of the update include the ability to add friends from your Nintendo 3DS and Wii U friends list, locate nearby paired controllers by making them vibrate, and use a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller through a wired connection. Take a look at the full patch notes below, courtesy of Nintendo.

Added System Functionality

• Register a channel to receive News for specific games
  • To register, head to News > Find Channels
• Add friends from your Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Friend Lists
  • To add friends, head to your My Page on the top left of the Home Menu > Friend Suggestions
• Receive notifications when your Friends go online
  • To turn this ON/OFF, head to System Settings > Notifications > Friend Notifications
• Find paired controllers within communication range by activating the vibration feature
  • To search, head to Controllers > Find Controllers
• Change the user icon order on the Home Menu
  • To change order, head to System Settings > Users > Change Order
• Select from 6 new Splatoon 2 characters for user icon
  • To edit your user icon, head to your My Page on the top left of the Home Menu > Profile
• Change the system volume from the Quick Settings
  • To access Quick Settings, hold down the HOME Button
• Lower the maximum volume for headphone or speakers connected to the audio jack
  • To lower the max headphone volume, head to System Settings > System > Lower Max Headphone Volume
    * This settings will be ON when Parental Controls are enabled
• Change display colors to Invert Colors or Grayscale
  • To use this feature, head to System Settings > System > Change Display Colors
• Use the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller via wired communication by connecting the USB charging cable
  • To enable, head to System Settings > Controllers and Sensors > Pro Controller Wired Communication
    * The NFC touchpoint on the Pro Controller will be disabled while the controller is using wired communication.
• Update connected controllers
  • To update, head to System Settings > Controllers and Sensors > Update Controllers
• Added a feature that suggests deletion of software data if there is insufficient space when downloading other software
  • To use this feature, head to System Settings > Data Management > Quick Archive
    * User save data is not deleted

General System Stability Improvements

• Resolved an issue that caused game software updates to fail and prevented the software from starting
• Improvements to prevent unintended HDMI input change with certain TVs while the console is docked in Sleep Mode

In other Nintendo Switch news, a replica SNES controller for the handheld and console hybrid is in development. The SNES30 Pro features Bluetooth, USB-C, rumble vibration, motion controls, and player indicator LEDs and, of course, looks like a classic SNES controller. Check it out here.

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Project Rap Rabbit, the rhythm-action game from the creators of PaRappa The Rappa, Gitaroo Man, and Elite Beat Agents, has failed to meet its Kickstarter funding goal, raising just £162,057 of the £855,000 it was asking for.

In an update posted on the Kickstarter project page, developers iNiS J and NanaOn-Sha thanked people for their support but said they “must sadly accept that our crowd-funding journey must end here.”

The statement continues: “We knew that sourcing funds for a high-quality rhythm-action game would be tough, and though we knew that Project Rap Rabbit would be an incredible game, unfortunately we weren’t able to do enough to prove that to the wider world.”

The developers added that they “are not in the position to be able to fund further production for a crowd-funding relaunch involving a title deeper in development” and wouldn’t want to scale back their vision for the game. As a result, “work on Project Rap Rabbit cannot continue at this time.”

Despite the seemingly definitive end to Project Rap Rabbit, iNiS J and NanaOn-Sha indicated they haven’t given up on the game entirely and that recent meetings at E3 may help give the project a future.

“Though our Kickstarter campaign hasn’t gone the way we’d intended, our early stages of development have left us more determined than ever to bring Project Rap Rabbit to life. While you didn’t see Project Rap Rabbit at any conferences or booths during E3 week, we had a very, very busy E3 filled with meetings about our vision for the future of rhythm-action.

“So what happens next?,” the update adds. “At this moment it’s far too early to say, but thanks in part to your overwhelming support we know that our vision for Project Rap Rabbit hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

The game was set to follow Toto-Maru, a rabbit and farm boy, and his sidekick Otama-Maru on their quest to save the world. The planet is becoming an increasingly hostile place thanks to “overlords.” The heroes needed to create peace by “embracing the strength of music and by using the magic of rhythm and rhyme.” The art style was inspired by 16th century Japan, and promised to blend traditional Japanese artwork and modern rap culture.

Project Rap Rabbit was initially planned for release on PlayStation 4 and PC. The team later committed to making a version of the game for Nintendo Switch if they exceed their goal and raise $1.5 million.

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Attack on Titan season three will air in 2018, it has been announced. This will come as good news to fans of the series, who previously had to endure a four year wait between season one and season two.

The news was revealed through a very short teaser, which you can watch below. The video flips through artwork from the anime series, before ending on the message, “Behold, the sea.”

Season 2 of Attack on Titan began airing in April 2017 and concluded with its 12th episode on June 17. Season two of the series comprised half the amount of episodes as the first season, and as of yet it remains unclear how many episodes season three will include.

For more on the series, you can watch GameSpot’s Kallie Plagge and Chastity Vicencio talk about the first two episodes in the series. If you’re looking for a crash course on Attack on Titan, Kallie has you covered for that too.

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