Work from anywhere seems to be the new norm emerging right now with more people opting to work from home or even from cafes. #Acer’s #Spin5 laptop is one of the most adaptable laptops which looks to be able to fill that niche of adapting to any work environment. It comes with enough power to keep you productive on the go with the #IntelEVO platform powered by the #IntelCore i7 processor and a stylus. We gave the Spin5 our review treatment to see whether this laptop is worth your RM5,599.
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TAIPEI, Aug. 26, 2021 — OwlTing Group, a blockchain technology company, announces that Meyer Sandy Frucher, a former Vice-Chairman of Nasdaq, has joined the company’s board of directors. OwlTing’s success in its home market in Taiwan has proven the company has a compelling value proposition that is ready for international competition. Mr. Frucher’s appointment comes as the firm focuses on scaling globally.
Meyer Sandy Frucher joins OwlTing’s board of directors
Mr. Frucher’s service with Nasdaq began in 2008 when, as CEO of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), he negotiated it’s acquisition by Nasdaq. Continuing on as Vice-Chairman of Nasdaq, he led Nasdaq’s relationships with international exchanges, representing Nasdaq on the board of directors of the World Federation of Exchanges. He continues to represent Nasdaq on the board of the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), where he is the longest-serving board director.
"Stock Exchanges have enabled capital formation and job growth in the most developed countries, but far too many companies in the developing world have been left behind, unable to absorb the enormous costs of public listing or Environmental, Social and Governance reporting capabilities, and in some cases, simple payment systems. OwlTing’s affordable blockchain solutions are game-changing for growing companies around the world. I’m excited to support the management team’s global ambitions," Mr. Frucher stated.
"Blockchain are systems of automated trust. This industry is in its infancy. Consumers and regulators alike are changing their expectations. Consumers want proof that their goods did not exploit vulnerable people and investors want proof that their portfolio companies are reducing their carbon emissions. Shortages and trade disruptions are causing companies to reconsider their supply chains and whether automation via smart contracts can improve their bottom line. Distributed ledgers and blockchain have transformative potential for a world with new expectations," said Mr. Frucher.
OwlTing provides easy access to blockchain solutions for industries such as finance, hospitality, agriculture, logistics and mobility that share needs for cost-effective resilience and transparency in the digital era.
OwlTing’s strategic partners include SBI Holdings, the leading Japanese financial technology company, which placed a significant investment in OwlTing in 2018.
Darren Wang, Founder and CEO of OwlTing said, "It is our pleasure to welcome Sandy to the OwlTing Group. Sandy’s embrace of technology at PHLX was visionary, and his leadership at Nasdaq and in the global exchange community guided the transformation of capital markets in the internet era. We are very early in the blockchain era, only recently moving from predictions and ‘hype’ to applications in production. Sandy’s experience in transforming capital markets and his global relationships will guide our growth strategy and add to our momentum."
About OwlTing Group
OwlTing Group is a blockchain technology company headquartered in Taiwan and has branch offices in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and U.A.E.. Darren Wang, a serial entrepreneur and blockchain industry angel investor, founded OwlTing in 2010, and it has since received venture backing from leading VCs, including an eight-figure USD investment from the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings in 2018. In 2019, OwlTing collaborated with U.S. companies, forming partnerships across borders to develop innovative blockchain applications. To learn more, please visit: https://www.owlting.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27, 2021 — Seiko Epson Corporation (referred to below as Epson) is working with San Francisco-based Runway Innovation Hub to foster an innovation mindset, identify cutting-edge technology startups for piloting and partnership, and build strong relationships with the global innovation ecosystem.
Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels
Epson is on a mission to address unmet customer needs through its Open Innovation Program. As an experienced partner in corporate innovation consulting and startup engagement, Runway was selected to translate global trends into business opportunities and scout startups.
"Our partnership with Runway has given us the opportunity to understand the Silicon Valley mindset and efficiently gain exposure to innovative startups," stated Junkichi Yoshida, COO of Epson’s Printing Solutions Division.
Yoshihiro Nakami, General Manager Epson DX Strategic Planning described, "Runway plays an important role in Epson’s worldwide innovation network. Their expertise in creating an innovation process for Epson and breadth of startup connections has accelerated our speed to pilot. We look forward to continuing our partnership."
Runway’s team of seasoned analysts and technology researchers have nurtured Epson’s startup partnership pipeline throughout the pandemic. Despite the global events of 2020, Runway and the Epson DX Open Innovation team have achieved strong results, including:
78 startups scouted, analyzed, and evaluated
22 startup meetings & demos sessions from over 6+ countries around the globe
11+ partnership discussions
"Epson and Runway have established a trusted partnership. We work very closely with the Runway team and they understand our strategic business goals. Together we are transforming step-by-step the internal mindset along with Epson’s future business." – Akihisa Obara, Epson Senior Expert and DX Project Management Lead.
One successful example is the collaboration with Avatour, a startup developing a remote collaboration platform designed to conduct meetings including for training, inspections, and other site-specific meetings. The company’s software allows users to share a real place where they can see the entire environment at 360° and interact with each other, thereby enabling remote users to effectively participate in site meetings and save time and money.
Jack Rieger, Director Digital Innovation Epson America explained, "We recognize that we don’t have good visibility to everything that is out there, so working with a firm like Runway introduced us to unknown possibilities. We look specifically for startup or corporate partners that can help us open up new markets, enhance the value proposition of our product, and grow our business in a significant way".
Epson is seeking collaborations with innovators to co-develop solutions for remote work, distance learning, digital collaboration, stay-at-home and remote manufacturing to support its current and future customers as the world is forever impacted by the global pandemic.
Epson and Runway are continuing a strong partnership into 2021 and look forward to sourcing high-quality startups and technologies for successful piloting and business unit integration. If you’d like to collaborate, please use the links below to learn more.
About Epson: Epson is a Japan-headquartered manufacturing company which provides printing solutions, visual communications, wearable products, and industrial solutions. Since 1942, Epson’s DNA has continued to embody the idea of efficient, compact, precision technology, and now their IoT hubs enable customers to access this whenever and wherever you are. Epson is helping their customers in education, tourism, healthcare, and disaster prevention tackle the challenges. By providing timely solutions to issues, they create customer-centric long term relationships, offering continuous support in solving social issues. Learn more at https://openinnovation.Epson.com/en/.
About Runway: Runway is a Silicon Valley innovation company accelerating the success of global corporate innovators and technology entrepreneurs. Runway has worked with 40+ global corporations to drive innovation results by uncovering new trends and opportunities, scouting cutting-edge startups for strategic partnership, investment or acquisition, and successfully piloting new business concepts. Alongside its consulting practice, Runway incubates early stage startups across 20+ industries. Runway’s 350+ startups have done extremely well – they’ve raised a combined $2.5B in VC money and 53 have successfully exited. Learn more at https://runway.is/corporate-innovation/ .
TAIPEI, Aug. 26, 2021 — As summer vacation draws to a close for students, the back-to-school season is once again around the corner. Whether you are heading back to class in person or going for yet another semester of remote learning due to the pandemic, now is the best time to get great deals on PC hardware for the new school year. Portable, high-performance laptops with a long battery life are undoubtedly the best hardware for making learning as easy as possible. For those with desktop PCs, GIGABYTE also offers a wide range of displays for productivity and more beyond the classroom. Others could also take this opportunity to upgrade their hardware collection at favorable prices during this time of the year. Check out the following selection of GIGABYTE laptops and monitors:
Get Best Back-To-School Deals on Laptops and Monitors at GIGABYTE Beyond the Classroom Campaign
For students constantly on the go, the award-winning, 15-inch AERO laptops are lightweight and easy to carry. At the same time, they offer eight hours of long-lasting battery life, suitable for taking out for a whole day of classwork. The factory-calibrated 4K OLED panel is made perfect for students with creative pursuits:
Looking to upgrade your current computer monitor to a vibrant gaming display? The AORUS gaming monitors deliver crisp colors and super smooth visuals in various sizes from 43′ to 25′. The built-in tactical game enhancements make games more fun and engaging, ideal for students who are passionate about gaming:
For students seeking a monitor to elevate their everyday computing experience, GIGABYTE M series monitors are your great all-around choice. The KVM function allows you to control multiple devices via one set of keyboard, display and mouse, so you can work smart and play smart:
GIGABYTE is offering great deals on a wide selection of back-to-school gear to prepare students academically and achieve more in life beyond the classroom. For more details, visit https://www.aorus.com/en-us/back-to-school-2021
When Google introduces the Chrome OS and the Chromebooks along with it, everyone was kind of thrilled. Finally, a new operating system (OS) that could take on the giants that are Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s Mac OS, even Linux maybe. Sadly, it was not to be that way and the Chrome OS turned out to be something completely different.
The Chrome OS has grown into something completely different though. It has grown into a unique OS that proved popular amongst schools and students because of its simplicity. Because its interface mimics that off an Android smartphone as well, but for a bigger screen, navigation is much more intuitive as well.
The Chrome OS started out as a completely web-based OS which would require you to be constantly online to make it function. Google’s Play Store has added plenty of offline capabilities to Chrome OS and allow the Chromebook to be a productivity and learning powerhouse it is today. One of the best additions for productivity on the Chrome OS is Microsoft’s Office 365 apps like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and even Excel.
It looks like that might change soon though. Microsoft’s Office suite will be leaving the Google Play Store from the 18th of September 2021 onward. That also means that apps like outlook will not be supported on Chrome OS. Microsoft claims that the move of removing their apps from Google Play Store is a part of their effort to optimise the Microsoft experience on the Chrome OS and Chromebook.
You still can access Microsoft’s suite of apps online though. Outlook.com and Office.com will still be available via web and signing into Microsoft account should be a breeze. The only problem is that you must be constantly online for that though. At the same time, the web experience is different compared to the Android App version.
Alternatively, there are Google’s G Suite apps still available on Chrome OS. Of course, with the Chrome OS, the native Google Apps should feel a little more optimised and seamless with your Google account. At the same time, you have an offline experience with G Suite apps on Chromebooks.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Google are seen as the most ideal employers among business and STEM talent, respectively
MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 26, 2021 — Today, Universum launches the findings from the Philippines portion of the world’s largest annual talent survey, with over 8,000 students from leading national universities in the Philippines who responded between December 2020 and June 2021. Set out to track career aspirations and preferences of the future talent pool, the Top 100 Ideal Employers student survey also recognises the most coveted employers based solely on the responses collected.
This year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has overtaken Philippine Airlines as the most attractive employer for business/commerce students, whereas Google retained its top position as the most desired employer among engineering talent.
Business students have a strong desire to work for domestic employers
The 2021 study reveals that 58% of young business/commerce talent would prefer to work for an employer founded in the Philippines. This is something that is also reflected in resulting employer rankings for business/commerce talent, with nine out of the top choices being homegrown. The banking industry remains the most preferred industry amongst business students (49% seeing it as a top choice), followed by auditing & accounting (37%) and e-commerce (33%).
Respect for its people surpass high future earnings
When asked about what they look for in an ideal employer, Filipino students report prioritising employers who offer strong professional training and development and show respect for their people. Both of these key attributes are highly associated with top performing employers Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and San Miguel Corporation.
When looking at the different markets around the world covered by Universum’s talent preference survey, it is clear that today’s students are highly drawn towards employers who demonstrate they have a social conscience, respect their people and perform well in some of the softer aspects, such as culture and working environment.
Mike Parsons, managing director APAC for Universum, said "Around the world in 2021, we have seen respect for its people trending. In the Philippines, this attribute was already important to talent but is now their second-highest priority when selecting a future employer, only behind "professional training and development". Employers who are serious about attracting the very best young talent in the Philippines need to listen to the strong message talent are sending. They also need to ensure that they not only deliver upon this but that they can articulate, both internally and externally, the respectful nature of their culture."
Overall students’ top preferences
2021
2020
1. Professional training & development
2. Respect for its people
3. A friendly work environment
1. Professional training & development
2. High future earnings
3. A friendly work environment
Salary expectations have increased
The study revealed that the young talent graduating in the Philippines expects, on average, an annual salary of 440,843 PHP, which represents an increase of 12% from a year before. In most regional and global markets, pay expectations have been stagnant or only increased modestly due to the tough economic conditions of the past year. Clearly, talent in the Philippines has far more optimism.
Sadly, female students expected 5% less salary than their male counterparts. However, among the students surveyed in Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, the Philippines has the smallest gap between what the different genders expect to be paid.
Universum 2021
Students’ discipline
Ideal Employer Ranking 2021
Business/Commerce
1. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
2. Philippine Airlines
3. San Miguel Corporation
4. BDO Unibank
4. Google
Engineering
1. Google
2. San Miguel Corporation
3. Microsoft
4. Philippine Airlines
5. Ayala Land
About the Universum 2021 Top 100 Ideal Employer Rankings – The Philippines Edition
The results are based on the answers of 8,426 students studying for degrees in business/commerce, engineering, IT, natural sciences, humanities/liberal arts/education, law and health/medicine, with 24,786 individual evaluations of 133 employers from December 2020 and June 2021. Each respondent is asked questions about their career preferences, expectations and employment related drivers and then presented with a list of 133 national and international employers, nominated by the target group through an independent and structured nomination and assessment process, which prevents companies unfairly influencing their positions. The rankings consist of those employers chosen most as an ‘ideal’ choice when working through a structured funnel-based methodology.
About Universum
Universum, part of the StepStone Group, is a global thought leader in Employer Branding. Universum has 32 years of peerless experience in the field of employer branding and is established in over 60 markets globally. Universum has a diverse workforce is physically present in 20 countries. With so much data, historically and geographically, Universum is uniquely positioned to deliver key insights to employers about how to attract and retain their future workforce. Our data-led, human and purposeful output has attracted over 1,700 clients, including many Fortune 500 companies, as well as global media partners that publish our annual rankings and trend reports. Find out more at https://universumglobal.com/.
TAIPEI, Aug. 26, 2021 — The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic around the world has triggered a series of technological and financial wrestling, and restarting the growth momentum of enterprises at this moment has become an arduous challenge. CommonWealth Magazine uses 2020 revenue in the range of 100 million to 10 billion and three consecutive years of profit growth as the screening criteria. Industrial computer leader, DFI, has a revenue of NT$8.35 billion (equivalent to 300 million U.S. dollars), an annual increase of 18.8%. Due to these good results, DFI has been ranked amongst the Fast 100 in CommonWealth Magazine for two consecutive years, and ranked ninth in revenue.
CommonWealth Magazine, founded on June 1, 1981, is Taiwan’s first financial-oriented professional news magazine. In 2007, CommonWealth Magazine became the first financial news media in Taiwan to launch an English-language website. In the years since, it has presented stories of Taiwanese companies, and industries as well as Taiwan’s political, economic, and social environment to the world through comprehensive and in-depth reports while providing news with a perspective.
DFI joined the Qisda Group in 2017. In 2019, DFI acquired AEWIN to expand into the cybersecurity business, and Ace Pillar to expand diversified & comprehensive solutions, specializing in smart manufacturing, smart healthcare, and intelligent transportation systems/infrastructure. According to a research report released by TrendForce in July, in the first half of 2021, DFI ranked third with a revenue of NT$5.28 billion (equivalent to 186.7 million U.S. dollars) and a 25.2% YoY increase.
"In recent years, in response to the trend of edge computing, industrial computer products have been widely used in the field of Internet of Things and becoming an important key to accelerating the introduction of artificial intelligence technology. The industrial Internet of Things and digital healthcare are growing rapidly. With 40 years of experience and with the strength of the Qisda Group, the rapid growth has deepened the supply chain’s recognition of DFI. This allowed DFI to continue to be listed in the Fast 100 of CommonWealth Magazine," said Steven Tsai, President of DFI.
Founded in 1981, DFI is a global leading provider of high-performance computing technology across multiple embedded industries. With its innovative design and premium quality management system, DFI’s industrial-grade solutions enable customers to optimize their equipment and ensure high reliability, long-term life cycle, and 24/7 durability in a breadth of markets including factory automation, medical, gaming, transportation, smart energy, mission-critical, and intelligent retail.
BEIJING, Aug. 26, 2021 — Decades ago, no one would imagine that Saihanba – the once barren land located in north China’sHebei Province – would turn into the world’s largest man-made forest.
 
China did it.
Saihanba now sees a forest coverage of 80 percent, which can conserve and purify 137 million cubic meters of water every year, an achievement hailed "great" by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"It is a model in the world’s ecological civilization history," he said during his recent two-day tour in Hebei.
During his trip, Xi learned about the management and protection of the forest farm, as well as Hebei’s coordinated efforts in conserving its mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands, and desertification control.
The president stressed the importance of developing the green economy and furthering ecological progress, urging to carry on "Saihanba spirit"—a term attributed to generations of workers on the farm who have kept their mission in mind, worked hard and pursued green development.
Xi urged the workers at the Saihanba forest farm to gain a deeper understanding of ecological conservation and continue their hard work for new achievements.
Xi encourages elderlies to stay active in job market
Facing a rapidly aging labor force in a continuously expanding economy, Xi encouraged more elderly folks to "stay active" in the job market when inspecting the Binhe community service center.
Xi suggested those "younger seniors" to participate in duties like community volunteering jobs.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, there are currently 264 million people aged 60 and over, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total population. The trend – many say – could potentially pose threats to the world’s second-largest economy.
The country has put it explicitly in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) that it will raise the statutory retirement age "in a gradual, flexible and differentiated manner" to adapt to that "new normal."
During his visit, Xi also stressed the need to achieve this year’s major goals for the country’s economic and social development.
He underlined the need to achieve a balance between COVID-19 prevention and control and economic and social development, and between development and security, to promote high-quality development, and to strive to fulfill major social and economic targets and tasks for this year to ensure a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
A new development philosophy in an all-round, faithful manner is need to put into practice, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said.
Xi calls for preservation and development of cultural heritage
In the renowned Chengde Mountain Resort – a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site—Xi learned about its history as well as the preservation efforts there.
The resort serves important historic meanings to communication between different ethnic minority groups, adaption of religion and the society, preservation and development of cultural heritage, as well as the peaceful coexistence between human and nature, Xi pointed out.
He also highlighted cultural confidence and the unity between multi-ethnic groups.
The Chinese president then visited Puning Temple, a famous Buddhist temple near the resort, and the Chengde Museum.
Xi: From ‘rural revitalization’ to ‘industry revitalization’
China has always viewed rural vitalization as one of the keys to developing a modern economy, and President Xi took that a step further. He stressed the importance of "industry revitalization."
Daguikou village—where Xi visited—now grows strawberries, grapes and cherries. Yet fruit was not their first choice.
The village had tried rice, corn and vegetables. But for all sorts of reasons like the lack of water, these products were underproduced. Therefore, villagers couldn’t make money off them. So they turned to growing fruits instead.
Now, growing strawberries has become the main business for the 1,700 residents, with each household making around $15,000 a year.
Xi called on villages to implement tailored methods and find out their distinctive resource in singling out their advantages, while also calling to strengthen rural infrastructure and public service system.
Hades, if you come from the world of PC games, is technically not a new game. The game was fully released late in 2020. To be specific, Hades came out of early access and was released on PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch on 17th September 2020.
So, why are we reviewing a game that is has existed nearly a year in the game market? Hades launched for the PlayStation and Xbox platform on the 13th of August 2021. That also means that Hades is also technically a brand-new game for users that are exclusively on the PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.
We are not going to focus on the differences between different available platforms. Instead, we are going to focus on Hades on the PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4) with DualShock 4 controller platform. While the most updated gaming console at this time is the PlayStation 5 (PS5), there is no getting our hands on one at this time. You can expect similar gameplay experience on both consoles though.
Roguelike or Roguelite?
Before anything else, there will be questions on what this is. Supergiant Games sells this game as a roguelike action dungeon crawler. So that must be true, right?
It is a dungeon crawler, an inspiration from dungeons and dragons. You get into different dungeons or ‘encounters’, as they call it, in your playthrough. You might liken it to games like Diablo for example.
In Hades, permadeath is not a thing. Nearly every encounter that you clear in the game will be quite unique, despite seeing the same dungeons. You also need to clear the dungeon before you can progress your playthrough.
Instead of collecting equipment though you are collecting boons or power-ups. You do not get to keep the boons though. You get to choose your weapons as in the beginning, and you retain the weapon of choice throughout a single playthrough.
In our humble opinion, the game is more Roguelite than roguelike. When you die, you respawn at the beginning. You are not technically starting over though since you can level your character up and keep those upgrades. Each death gets you closer to beating the game.
The Story (Some Spoilers Ahead)
While the game has existed for 11 months now, there are still people out there who has not played it. While we want to ensure that we do not spoil too much of the game, the nature of the game makes it a little hard not to. So, if you do not want us to spoil the game for you at all, do go ahead and skip this part.
You are playing Zagreus, son of Hades. As Zagreus, you are trying to escape the underworld domain ruled by ‘your father’, Hades. As per the name of the game itself, the game’s design, storyline, and characters are based on Greek Mythology, specifically the underworld.
At first, it seems like you want to escape Hades’ realm to join the other Gods at Olympus since the conversations you have with each God revolves around you escaping and joining them. After several conversations with the characters at the House of Hades though, you find that Zagreus’ motivation is more tragic than that. Of course, you must die a few times to know more.
The premise of Hades and storyline are simple, there are not much in the way of cut scenes. You can choose to explore the lore of Hades more after every run by having conversations with character within the House of Hades. Every time you die, the story progresses a little bit more and you have a chance to discover a bit more about Zagreus, Hades, and everything else that is happening around you. While dying and losing is never pleasant, it is just the beginning.
Gameplay – Exploring Hades
Hades_20210813191130
To make the game easier to beat, there is something called ‘God Mode’. With God Mode, each death adds a 2% damage resistance. Damage resistance maxes out at 80%. While 40 deaths sound like a lot of death, you might die a lot more before you beat the game. You must have God Mode turned on to get your damage resistance though.
You can turn God Mode on or off at any time during your gameplay. You simply pause the game and turn it on or off. You do not lose any of your damage resistance the next time you turn on God Mode.
There is also Hell Mode, or in simpler terms, Hard Mode. This is the opposite of God Mode. It is an option you select only when you start a new game and there is no turning back. It makes Hades more miserable than it already is. As the game suggests, it is also not for the faint hearted, or new players.
We cannot elaborate on Hell Mode too much because there are a whole set of mechanics that makes the game either more enjoyable or less enjoyable, depending on how you see it. In short, Hell Mode just makes the game a lot harder and complex to begin with. There is now heat levels for example that determines how miserable you will be in your playthrough.
Combat
Hades is a hack and slash game. That also means that 80% of the game is in its gameplay and combat. We have good things to report here.
The combat controls are intuitive, at least for the PS4. You tap or hold and release your Square button for regular attacks. Your Triangle button unleashes special attacks that differs for every weapon. Your Cross button is your dash button to either dodge attacks or be combined with Square button for a combo attack. The Circle button is your ranged attack option, or cast. You have a limited amount of cast attacks though.
You can use a combination of attacks to either create space, set up for a counterattack, or even crowd control. It is a little more action packed than the regular Dungeons and Dragons style games like Diablo, or Baldur’s Gate. It is also not a turn-based RPG game, which means you do have to be a little more active in battles.
While regular encounters can be easy enough to deal with, Boss battles are a little different. You dash a lot to dodge powerful attacks that might kill you in a few hits. Once you catch each boss’ rhythm though, you should be able to effectively strategize and time your attacks.
Items and Inventory
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Hades_20210813191048
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Each weapon you select has their own unique abilities and mechanics. You start with a sword and unlock more weapons as you play more and collect special keys. At random, you get farming bonuses from differing weapons too, it pays to be familiar with each weapon on offer.
There are five main resources you are farming. You are farming gems, darkness, keys, nectars, and coins (Choron’s Obol). Four of those will remain with you even if you die. The only one that does not come with is the coin resource. There are also three additional resources that you can only obtain by beating each of the four main bosses – Titan Blood, Diamond, and Ambrosia, each with their own functions later in the game.
You also want to collect boons, a sort of temporary buff from other Gods and your allies. Certain boons also change the way your weapon behave, or how you attack. You cannot keep boons with you though, you lose it when you die. Boons are also random in nature, as with the dungeons and encounters you will have in the game. You will not know what you are going to get or what choices you have until you beat the encounter and accept the boons. You can combine different boons and upgrade them to give yourself a fighting chance to beat the game.
Dumped into the Deep End Immediately
While the game is relatively simple to understand, it does a bad job in starting you off. You get thrown into the deep end of the pool immediately. You start out as a lost puppy trying to figure out your battle mechanics.
The game throws you into the beginning dungeon with only one way forward. You hit the ground running, and you will be mostly confused in the first 10 minutes of starting Hades, you might die pretty much immediately too. As mentioned, dying is only the beginning.
You are not going to get very far in the beginning. You might need to clear up 45-50 dungeons or encounters to eventually run into Hades’ and beat him, effectively escaping hell. You also realise you might have to die plenty of times before beating the game. The game still does not end there though as you can return to the residence and use different weapons to try to beat the game again, and again, and again.
Dying may not be such a bad thing in the game since you get to learn more about the game’s lore. If you have God Mode on, even better. You get more tanky with each death and playthrough.
Art Style
You might have come across some of the game trailers for the game before you even decided to eventually buy the game. You would come across a traditional anime type animation on the trailers. While that does not reflect the full art style of the game itself, it is close.
Conversations are not animated though. While having conversations with a character, you get various images of the character that sort of reflects their emotions at the time. The conversations come with a text box too, so you technically can comb through the conversation.
Yes, the characters are designed the same way you see in the trailer. While it does look like a traditional anime style that you might be used to, it looks fresh. It feels polished, and it does not feel old or traditional in any way. The game somehow feels a lot more natural on PS4 and Xbox and even the Nintendo Switch. You do get to play the game at higher resolutions (up to 4K) with the PS4/5 and Xbox.
The characters are designed with classic Greek in mind as well. Each character is tied to a sort of colour too that matches their personality and background. For example, Hades and Zagreus themselves are designed with a lot of red tones to kind of represent what we perceive hell to be. Aphrodite is designed with a shade of pink around and on her to reflect her status as the goddess of love, lust and beauty.
The colour schemes extend to your power ups too. Your power ups, or boons, that you might use for various parts of your combats will flash in colours that reflects the God or Goddess that provides you with that particular boon. For example, if you get a boon by Zeus, your attacks will flash in yellow colour and a boon from Ares flashes red.
While most of the character designs are very inspired by anime, the game does look a little different overall. There is still that anime quality in the overall game design, especially with the sort of pastel colours they choose and the way they choose to shade the characters. They choose to use colours that really pops on a good display. That means on a 4K display, the game should really pop.
Sound Design
They actually put a lot of effort in this department for the game. Your purchase of PlayStation version of Hades entitles you to a free digital copy of their soundtrack album. The collection of soundtracks composed by Darren Korb contains 30 original tracks created just for the game. You are reading that right, 30.
Most, if not all of the 30 tracks from the album will be featured in the game in different sequences. Of course, you might not hear some of the songs from the album making it to the game. When you do though, they fit the encounters, which does add to the immersive experience of the game.
The sound design for Hades goes deeper than just the soundtrack though. While you do get text boxes to read through for conversations you might come across or have with other characters, dialogues are voiced by voice actors, and they are done well.
Of course, there is a lot of focus on creating the right sounds for combat. Each boss battle has their own soundtracks that matches the boss fights. Of course, they are intense, and they need to be for the boss battles. Regular encounters and even mini boss battles are accompanied with their own soundtrack too. The intensity of the soundtrack prepares you for each encounter. Of course, your attacks come with their own sound effects too. All these makes Hades feels organic, more alive. Ultimately, the sound effects and soundtracks makes the game more immersive.
Hades – Roguelite Made for the Consoles
You cannot expect Hades to deliver a gaming experience that compares to titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, or even GTA V (Supergiant Games is also part of 2K). That said, you are getting a game that is well designed all-around. While the general animation design can look a little janky when you put it against mentioned titles, those design choices are what made Hades charming. While launched on PC and Mac first, the game feels more native on gaming consoles. You do get to play the game at higher resolutions (up to 4K) with the PS4/5 and Xbox.
It is entirely possible to finish the game within 2 hours. All you need is one perfect run without dying and resetting to the House of Hades. If not, it could be a game that you quickly fire up, do a single run, and turn off when you die in less than 15 minutes. It is a fast-paced game, but we suggest taking your time with the game.
It is a game that rewards players who pay attention to timing, rhythms, and patterns. At the same time, it is an extremely punishing game when you make mistakes. Your mistakes are extra punishing when it comes to bosses.
That is not to say that it is a difficult game. It gets ever so slightly easier too as you progress along. Of course, If you are lucky, you can get away with a weapon that you might not be too familiar with and nearly beat the game with it.
The game is worth MYR 99 on the PlayStation Store. Compared to usual PlayStation titles, MYR 99 is relatively low. You are getting a lot of game for that kind of money though. While encounters can be repetitive, you can replay each dungeon multiple times and still feel that Hades still has more to offer. You can always go back and beat Hades a few times too, if you really need an outlet from a long day.
Diversified portfolios managed by experts for investing towards your long-term financial goals – helping you grow your money and improve your financial health.
SYDNEY and NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2021 — Douugh, (ASX: DOU) the purpose-led fintech company on a mission to help Americans autonomously manage and grow their money to live financially healthier lives, today announced the launch of Douugh Wealth, which democratizes access to investment solutions by combining human expertise and state of the art technology integrated into its smart bank account.
Douugh Wealth Portfolio Jars offer investment solutions for personal investing goals so customers — whether first-time or seasoned investors — can live financially healthier lives and grow their long-term wealth in an appropriate, low-cost, diversified portfolio based on their risk appetite for each of their long-term savings goals.
Douugh Wealth’s unique combination of human expertise and technology puts customers’ financial goals at the center of the investment strategy to help get them through good times and bad by seeking to minimize market risks and maximize returns, all with no brokerage or management fees.1
"The launch of the Douugh Wealth proposition is a critical milestone on our journey to becoming a truly ‘responsible’ financial super app — helping customers autonomously manage and grow their money to live financially healthier lives," said Douugh Founder and CEO Andy Taylor.
"For too long, sophisticated wealth management has been a privilege reserved for the top 1%. Douugh Wealth democratizes the path toward financial health for everyone regardless of where they start their wealth journey. As a fiduciary platform that puts customer goals at its centre, our customers can be confident Douugh has their best interests in mind regardless of the size of their portfolio."
In a recent DriveWealth report, 33% of Americans said they would increase investing post-pandemic, but 45% said the pandemic had set back their long-term financial security. And with interest rates at an all-time low, Douugh Wealth has launched at the perfect time to build customer wealth autonomously, while helping each individual reach their goals.
"At Douugh, we know that investing can be hard, time consuming, expensive and even sometimes scary so we want to give our customers the best opportunity to grow their money, achieve their goals and improve their overall financial health," said Douugh Head of Wealth Tom Culver. "Since we’re all more likely to do something if we’re engaged, we’ve also designed Dough Wealth to be personalized, goals-based, and engaging to ensure customers get the most out of learning how to invest in their future."
Douugh Wealth’s Portfolio Jars offers investors a choice between Core or Sustainable portfolios with Conservative, Moderate, or Aggressive options, curated by Douugh’s investment team.
"Douugh Wealth’s core investment philosophy is straightforward and based on the understanding that the generation we belong to will be forever influenced by a rapidly changing path adapting to technological innovation and sustainability factors on an almost daily basis," said Culver. "A well-diversified, balanced portfolio tilted to emphasize exposure to innovative and highly defensible technology and sustainably focused themes may lead to superior long-term investment returns."
As part of its core mission, Douugh educates customers how to manage and grow their money in a responsible way by investing and committing to long-term wealth goals. Douugh’s unique approach to financial management provides a holistic and consolidated dashboard for everything from budgeting to investing in one app, putting customers’ finances on autopilot so they can enjoy financial freedom.
To reinforce good money habits and financial literacy, Douugh will provide regular updates and alerts that help educate customers about principles like compounding, diversification, asset allocation and risk management, while gamifying the investment process.
About Douugh
Douugh is the purpose-led fintech company on a mission to help customers autonomously manage and grow their money to live financially healthier lives. Douugh was founded in 2016 by Andy Taylor, co-founder of SocietyOne, Australia’s first and leading P2P Lending platform. Passionate about the power of technology to disrupt the banking industry and empower individuals, Andy and Douugh believe the current business model operated by banks is outdated and have developed a radically new banking model centred around software that helps users achieve financial freedom.
Douugh USA, LLC is a financial technology. The Douugh bank account and debit card are issued by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC. Douugh Wealth, LLC is a registered investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investments are SPIC insured up to the value of $500,000. Investing in securities involves risk and there is always the potential of losing money, past performance does not guarantee future performance.
The information contained in this communication is provided for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as investment advice. Nothing in this communication should be construed as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Any links provided to other server sites are offered as a matter of convenience and are not intended to imply that Douugh Wealth, LLC endorses, sponsors, promotes and/or is affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorses any information contained on those sites, unless expressly stated otherwise.
