Changyou
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Free for All: Charmed, Zentia, I'm sure
Charm is one of those words that, as a kid, I never really understood. I always pictured some southern gentleman, lemonade in hand, wooing powdered belles from his porch on a hot summer's day: that's how I defined it. But now I think I understand it so much more, and I often wonder why this industry seems to often ignore the word, or has no idea what it means. It's easiest to explain it this way: You cannot be charming by acting cool. If you act cool, it comes out cheesy. The movie The Matrix, for example: trying to act so incredibly cool, but comes off only cheesy. You must simply be cool to be charming. You can also be truly wide-eyed, which is charming. Or innocent, which is much rarer, but still charming. Be warned: Top Gun was considered very cool, and Tom Cruise very charming, in their time. Shirley Temple, mainly because of the time period her movies were made in, is still charming. A Christmas Story is very, very charming. Reese Witherspoon's work in Election? Oozes charm. Roy Orbison? Cool and charming, despite looking like a grandmother. The same applies to MMORPGs. Seriously. Some games are trying to be way too cool, and should just relax a bit. Be fun. I recently discovered one of the most charming games yet in Zentia.
Get yourself a Zentia closed beta key, and take part in epic shrimp versus crab battles
If fairy tales are your thing and you don't mind some Chinese mythology, then ChangYou has a game to share with you. It's called Zentia, and it is the company's newest offering to the North American region. Even better, it's going into closed beta on July 15th at 4 PM PT (7 PM ET) and we here at Massively have scored 5,000 beta keys for the game. Don't worry about rushing; there will be enough for everyone! But, if you're interested in learning more about the game and see a trailer of the gameplay, or just want to grab yourself a key, then head on over past the break for everything you need to know!
E3 2010: Zentia preview
ChangYou's Zentia is -- you guessed it -- another free-to-play title coming from Asia. So what makes it stand out from the rest? We talked to the game's senior producer, Susan Revelt at E3 and she tells us it's the game's story that makes it shine. And we admit, Zentia does start with a rather unique premise: You enter the game as one of 22 (former) immortals who have been banished from the immortal realms and tasked with ridding the world of demons before they can return. It's ChangYou's take on telling a fairy tale... with a humorous twist. (Revelt tells us they're aiming for a Princess Bride or Labyrinth feel with the story and the humor.) Whether this has given them what they need to succeed in the crowded free to play market is still up in the air. Though we've seen footage of the game, we haven't had a chance to test drive it ourselves and the closed beta won't begin until early July, with a planned release towards the end of August. Let's start by talking about the basics of the game... %Gallery-95555%
Get your closed beta test keys for Blade Wars here!
Thank god it's Friday, am I right? The week is gone, but we're not done at Massively yet! We've got some beta keys to hand out to you loyal readers, and what better day to do it than on a Friday! This time around we've scored 2,000 keys to ChangYou's new offering to the F2P MMO market, Blade Wars. This game is another revival of the 2 1/2D form of MMO play, but with a few fun twists. A combo system has been added to the attack system, so if you love racking up chains of attacks then you're going to enjoy this. The game also features a weapon creation system, which allows you to cobble together your own weapons from pieces you find throughout the world. If you're interested, then head on over here and grab a key! You can redeem it and play the game immediately, so have fun making your own Kung-Fu combos this weekend!
TLBB launches European open beta
Tian Long Ba Bu, the free-to-play martial arts MMO from ChangYou, has been a favorite MMO in Asia for quite a while. Now they're hoping to expand that success a bit by offering the game in Europe as well. TLBB recently went into open beta for European players, and there are some great incentives for anyone who is thinking about giving it a try. "Kung Fu Journey" is an ongoing open beta contest in which players can win in-game prizes such as mounts or extra storage, and compete to win the grand prize: a trip to China. ChangYou has high hopes for the success of the game in Europe, and while the April contests are wrapping up, you still have plenty of time to participate. It's important to note that China and the United States have their own versions of the game and that this particular beta -- and the contests -- is for Europe only. Visit the site to sign up, and enjoy!
Chinese online games market saw 63% growth in 2008
Business is booming for online game operators in China. The market grew by 63% in 2008 according to analyst group Pearl Research. They also predict that online gaming in China will be a $5.5 billion market by 2012, as reported by Gamasutra's David Jenkins. In a country where broadband speeds are continually improving coupled with the widespread adoption of the web, China's netizens have embraced the relatively low-cost entertainment that online gaming offers. This is good news for gaming companies, particularly in these lean economic times. Jenkins writes, "Online operators in China have apparently seen little downturn in their business during the world economic crisis, with six companies now making revenues greater than $200 million (Tencent, Changyou, The9, Netease, Shanda and Giant)." You can see the full story on China's online games growth over at Gamasutra.
