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Zentia's 1.4 update heralds Dragon Boat Festival and more
Fans of ChangYou's cutesy Chinese-flavored MMO Zentia are in for a tasty summer treat today. The company is wrapping up the season with the launch of update 1.4, which brings with it the first part of the third Heavenly Test, known as the Ten-Position Test. No, that's not veiled innuendo -- Zentia's Heavenly Tests are world events in which elite groups of players compete to advance the server and level-cap. The patch also offers new disciplines, quests, drop-rate tweaks, paintings, updates to the cash shop (including new pirate-themed costumes), and a new instance named Silent Altar Challenge, which is aimed at highbie players. Coinciding with this content update is the introduction of a new themed event called the Dragon Boat Festival. Running from August 17th to the 24th, the festival encourages players to donate raw materials to NPCs called Provincial Officers, who will craft the titular dragon boats and teach players how to make party food known as zongzi. A "surprise" awaits those who lend their materials to the project, so if you're in the mood for a snack and a boat ride, don't delay. Past the break, we've included an official trailer highlighting the best of the patch. Enjoy!
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%
