NiniaPimp Magazine

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution is the second stand-alone expansion to Dawn of War II, a real-time strategy/tactical role-playing game set in the Warhammer: 40,000 universe. Chaos Rising, the previous stand-alone expansion, required ownership of DOWII if you wanted to play the original’s factions in multiplayer. Retribution goes one step further by allowing you to play all six sides in both the single-player and multiplayer portions of the game without owning any of the preceding titles. Keeping everything fantastic from its predecessors and improving upon their flaws, Retribution is a must-have for DOWII fans and a great point of entry for newcomers.

Retribution can be played more like a traditional RTS than its predecessors if you choose.

The highlight of Retribution is its campaign, which is set on the long-suffering planets of subsector Aurelia. After decades of warfare and demonic infestation, Aurelia has now been slated for destruction by the Holy Imperial Inquisition. However, the true source of the sector’s problems is the corrupt Space Marine Chapter Master Azariah Kyras, and his destruction may stay the Inquisition’s hand and spare the sector its fiery doom. While the campaign’s story and opening cutscene are decidedly focused on the Space Marines, the five other factions have their own reasons for opposing Kyras (beyond a desire to save Aurelia for themselves). Their motivations generally make sense, but the need for each faction to experience the same basic story arc leads to occasional holes in the plot. An unnecessary case of Eldar on Eldar violence is particularly inexplicable. Less problematic are the simpler narratives of the Orks and Tyranids, who are motivated by, respectively, a desire to obtain an Inquisitor’s hat and an instinctual impulse to consume everything in the galaxy.

Regardless of which of the six factions you decide to play as, Retribution’s campaign feels like a hybrid of Dawn of War II’s campaign, which focused on micromanaging a handful of hero units, and a more traditional RTS. During each mission, you can collect resources to spend on building units or temporarily improving the stats of your heroes. For instance, you can buff up the Imperial Guard Commissar Lord Bernn’s health and have him punch tanks to death, or you can field a few tanks of your own. Likewise, when picking mission rewards, you must choose between grabbing better war gear for your heroes and making your army “more killy” by unlocking unit types or upgrades. This can be a tough call because heroes are insanely useful when properly micromanaged, especially if you carefully choose new abilities while leveling up. For instance, you might be able to take out a teeming mass of Orks by slowing down time with one hero while setting the area on fire with another. If you tire of micromanaging heroes and prefer a good old-fashioned tank column, you can leave most of the heroes behind for a mission in exchange for an increased population cap and powerful honor guard units that may be rebuilt or reinforced for free.

Mission objectives are more diverse than in the original Dawn of War II, where you’d repeatedly replay the same maps and where the goals generally consisted of defending power generators or defeating a boss. In Retribution, you play each map only once per campaign, and there is only one optional power generator defense mission. Some of the boss battles in Retribution offer additional variety. For example, in one level, you fight an Ork tank that takes a good 20 minutes to kill with conventional weaponry, but which can be baited into rolling over explosive barrels to its destruction. Other mission highlights include fleeing from a gigantic Baneblade tank, ambushing Ork convoys, and escaping from a planet while an orbital bombardment tears it asunder.

Tyranids aren’t the only bugs that you have to contend with in the Imperial Guard campaign.

Though the campaign is generally excellent, it suffers from a few bugs that occur almost exclusively while playing as the Imperial Guard, the new side introduced in this expansion. Lord General Castor, the chief hero in the Imperial Guard campaign, is particularly cursed. During the second level, there is a cutscene where a bridge is destroyed, and without fail, Castor’s bodyguards get stuck on inaccessible ledges beneath the bridge. Unfortunately, Castor and his bodyguards are considered to be a single squad, so he remains trapped in place until his stranded squadmates perish. Furthermore, using Castor’s special ability to air-drop a tank onto the battlefield causes multiple bugs on maps where you normally couldn’t build tanks. In one instance, the game wouldn’t recognize that the mission objective had been completed; in another, game-pausing messages about a “Fatal Scar Error” popped up constantly. Without these “forbidden tanks,” the missions were bug free.

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We stopped in to check on our old pal, the Recyclosaurus — a huge sculpture of a T-Rex made of recycled materials and half-filled with cans, bottles and trash. He’s been standing in front of Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry since 1993.

Luckily, we ran into the original artist who created it — Terry Klaaren — there on a ladder, putting finishing touches on some recent renovations. Terry is a local sculptor and muralist who’s lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1972.

The first thing we noticed about the Recyclosaurus was that his guts had been emptied of garbage. “We cleared him out, gave him a little colon flush,” Terry said. After 18 years of Florida sun and humidity, the dinosaur was recycling itself in ways not originally anticipated. And the life-size dinosaur’s eyes no longer lit up at night.

Back in 1992, Klaaren was asked to create the dinosaur using “cheap stuff” readily available. “They considered doing it all with car parts until they realized how expensive that would be,” he told us. The sculpture had to be constructed quickly, so not much research was devoted to choosing which ingredients would stand the test of time.

The Recyclosaurus – 2011.

The resulting creature, 25 ft. high and 40 ft. long from head to tail, boasted a framework made from recycled steel, skin made from orange plastic mesh construction fencing, and an assortment of discards filling its body cavity. Over time the mesh skin started to fall apart, and other deteriorating contents from the beast’s belly threatened to drop out and litter the landscape. Short of renaming it the Blightosaurus, by 2010 it was time for some corrective surgery.

Terry was pleased the museum asked him to return and perform the work, which included rewiring the lights and tracking down mesh fencing to re-skin him.

Will MOSI refill the Recyclosaurus with new 21st century discards? Terry said for now “He’s a Recyclosaurus in name only.”

In 1985 the house on Third Street was small, brown, and ordinary. Then artists Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda bought it and moved in — and the neighborhood has never been the same.

The house is now the center of “Whimzeyland,” a riot of bright paint, tile, and yard sculptures. It’s also known as “The Bowling Ball House” because hand-decorated balls are a big part of the landscaping. Bowling balls are arranged in piles, wind along flower beds, and perch on pedestals, embellished with smiley faces.

Todd and Kiaralinda, childhood friends who lived a few doors from each other, moved to the cozy and art-friendly community and began Whimzey’s transformation. They are full-time artists; part of the year they travel to art shows, selling their work and meeting folk artisans, painters, and sculptors. We lucked out when we stopped by; they were both home, and though busy, gave us a tour of the property.

The main house is painted in bright, happy colors, with murals of star fields and rainbows. The yard, which originally had just two spindly palm trees, is now layered with lush foliage, tile work, found objects, and sculptures. There are blue bottle trees, a fountain, junk art animals — something unusual no matter where you look. And lots of bowling balls.

Todd and Kiaralinda recalled how that started: they were at a local flea market when they saw a sign: “10 Free Bowling Balls Per Person.” They grabbed twenty, called a few friends, and quickly had 60 bowling balls. They lined their property, augmenting the black ones with patterns and faces. In their art show travels, the pair enlisted other artists to create bowling ball art. Over 80 participated; the results are in Todd and Kiaralinda’s book “On the Ball.” A selection of balls are exhibited in a small, musty building that they call The Bowling Ball Museum.

An adjacent gazebo was obtained from the old Kapok Tree Inn and modified to fit into Whimzeyland. It now shelters a performance area where Todd and Kiaralinda host concerts and events (a recent one, themed “Shock the Monkey,” celebrated their 50th birthdays).

Bathroom ceiling.

Whimzeyland doesn’t stop at the home’s property line. We’d noticed a house next door showing obvious signs of a Todd and Kiaralinda attack. Another house across the street featured a large sculpture of a peace sign. And still another house (Casa Loco) is filling with yard art and architectural embellishments, while a garage beyond that is painted in crazy colors…

It’s not a case of copycat neighbors; Todd and Kiaralinda own these houses, too. They’re a special kind of landlord, renting to kindred creative spirits. One structure is a guest house for visiting artists.

The original Whimzey house is densely packed with art, items made and collected: Howard Finster angels, a large sock monkey in a hula skirt, strands of beads, a series of Mexican figures holding bowls. The bathroom is a particular wonder. The ceiling above the shower curtain is covered with hundreds of glued-in-place plastic toys and figures.

As a place to live, it might’ve driven any previous owners nuts. But for mellow Todd and Kiaralinda, with her purple hair and infectious smile, it’s a home base set up exactly the way they want. How many people can make that claim?

The couple is currently working with others to open a new downtown arts and music center, which will feature some of their sculpture.

The tip on the Margarita Grill Restaurant: at dinnertime, the waiters hand out American flags to all the customers so they can join in a patriotic singalong, paying tribute to 9-11. It was packed on a recent Saturday at lunchtime when we visited — mostly with retirees and casually dressed tourists. The hostess told us that the 9-11 remembrance, led by one of the restaurant’s owners (Tommy), was only on weekend evenings. We couldn’t stick around for the performance, but there is ample evidence of their commitment to America no matter when you visit.

Outside the entrance stands an elephant statue with a soft, plushie hide. Next to it is a large mural of a crying bald eagle watching the World Trade Center towers burn. The text: “We’ll Never Forget – 9/11/01.”

The restaurant interior is decorated with a mixture of American flags, 9-11 banners, military insignias, and mounted fish. The restaurant is known for their ample margaritas. Their motto is: “Eat here or we both starve!”

This small museum is the world’s only one devoted to the Panama Canal — chronicling the construction, operation and maintenance in the former Canal Zone.

At first Seminole might seem an arbitrary venue for a museum about a century-old, man-made waterway in another country. But the Canal is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, built with Yankee ingenuity, the “largest construction project in American history.” And through the years, before and after the Canal Zone was turned over to Panama in 1979, many employees (called “Zonians”) retired to the Tampa-St. Pete area.

Shriner doll.

The exhibits will be of interest to history buffs, starting with the pre-Canal era of Spanish and then French control, and then a period when a railroad made the journey across the mountainous isthmus. There are many photographs, a pair of commemorative plates from opening of the Canal in 1915, a Canal model, and other artifacts. The “American Era” lasted from 1904-1999, and retirees apparently held onto some interesting items.

On the oddity side, a couple of items are of note: a glass display case of insects collected from Panama — exotic beetles, locusts, spiders and other jungle-loving crawlies. There’s also a primitive Shriner doll, found left behind in the workers’ quarters.

The prize oddball artifact is probably Teddy Roosevelt’s spittoon. The Roosevelt visited the isthmus during the Canal’s construction in 1906, staying at the Tivoli Hotel. His brass spittoon — or cuspidor — is displayed under glass (discouraging spontaneous gobs).

While visitors are welcome, the museum is currently set up in an office suite. The plan is for the collection to move to the University of Florida in 2012.

Photo gallery:
Nokia X2

You know things are really moving fast in the cell phone world when even the prepaid phones are sporting full keyboards. They haven’t taken over the space completely, but handsets built for texting are slowly gaining dominance on the budget side of the market. Take, for instance, Nokia’s X2 for T-Mobile. Though it is light on high-end features, it offers just about everything you need for a messaging life. You also get a full HTML browser, though it’s not worth the trouble given the slow EDGE network and the low-resolution display. Yet, if you’re looking for a well-constructed, easy-to-use handset that makes good calls, then the X2 delivers the goods.

Design
“Boring” is a word that accurately describes the X2, but that’s not a bad thing. Indeed, not every cell phone needs to have a striking design, especially those that are built with communication in mind. With its boxy shape and slightly curved bottom, the X2 looks a bit like the Samsung BlackJack series, albeit with a different navigation array. At 4.7 inches long by 2.35 inches wide by 0.56 inch deep, the X2 is relatively slim and compact for its class. It slips easily into a pocket and it won’t weigh you down (3.79 ounces).

As for durability, the X2 shows Nokia’s usual design chops. The handset has a solid, comfortable feel in the hand and the keyboard is quite good given the X2′s price. The domed keys offer an ergonomic typing experience, and the arrangement should be spacious enough for most users. Numbers do share space with letters on some keys, while other letter buttons double up with common punctuation. You’ll also find a dedicated Symbol and Control keys and a large and convenient spacebar.

The navigation array is huge. In the center is a raised four-way toggle with a recessed OK button. The toggle is easy to use, and you can set the toggle as a shortcut to four user-defined features. Surrounding the toggle are two soft keys, shortcuts to the Web browser and messaging app, and the Talk and End/Power keys. Though this last set of controls also is large, they feel slick and a tad cheap. We don’t anticipate long-term issues, but you do notice a change from the keyboard.

The QVGA display measures 2.4 inches and supports 262,000 colors (320×240 pixels). Though that’s not a bad resolution for a messaging phone, it doesn’t do justice to the Web browser or graphics. You can see the pixelation and most colors look relatively flat. Also, keep in mind that it’s not a touch screen. After using so many smartphones we instinctively tried pecking at the display the first time we picked up the X2. Fortunately, the Series 40 menus have a simple design, and you can access some applications directly from the home screen.

On the top of the X2 are a 3.5-millimeter headset jack and the charger port. We were hoping for a standard Micro-USB charger, but Nokia used its longtime 2mm connection on the X2. On the left side are a Micro-USB port for syncing and a microSD card slot. You won’t see a volume rocker, which means you’ll have to change the sound level using the navigation toggle when you’re on a call. The camera lens sits on the rear side next to a small speaker.

Features
As mentioned, the X2′s features center on messaging with a couple of extras thrown in. We’ll start with the basics first. The X2 has a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, an e-mail address, a URL, a street address, a birthday, a nickname, and notes. As always, you can save callers to groups and pair them with a photo or video and one of 33 polyphonic ringtones. Alternatively, you can use your own audio recordings as ringtones. And if you’re really popular, you can store an additional 250 names on the SIM card.

Organizer options include a world clock, a calendar, a calculator, a unit and currency converter, a to-do list, a notepad, a countdown timer, and a stopwatch. You’ll also find a voice recorder, PC syncing, stereo Bluetooth, a My Nokia app for messages and service support, and a Community portal that can deliver Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Like almost every other basic phone on the planet, the Nokia X2 supports threaded text messaging and multimedia messaging. Yet the X2 doesn’t stop there. The handset also offers access to most POP3 and IMAP4 services, instant messaging for the major platforms, and a dedicated portal for T-Mobile e-mail. Keep in mind that e-mail and instant messaging come through a Web interface rather than dedicated apps. The experience can be tedious and frustrating at times, but the options are there if you want them.

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