Much like the dreaded Kobayashi Maru, there really is no right answer to the question, “Where should I pre-order Star Trek Online?” In its ongoing mission to make games as hard to purchase as possible, Starfleet has issued different pre-order bonuses to each major American retailer. Want to pilot the Enterprise? You’ll have to order from GameStop. Need a pet Tribble? Best Buy. How about a gun that beams projectiles directly to their intended target? Target. That “Liberated Borg” bridge officer you always wanted? Amazon.

And here we thought all we had to do to get the full enjoyment out of our games was buy them. Those days are over, friend. Check out the full list of pre-order bonuses — and where to find them

• GameStop: Exclusive ship: The classic USS Enterprise
• Best Buy: Pet Tribble or Targ (based on faction)
• Amazon: “Liberated Borg” Bridge Officer with “unique nanotechnology augmentations”
• Direct2Drive: Multi-Spatial Personal Shield (regenerates itself and player health)
• Wal-mart: Bonus Skill Points (bestows additional skill points)
• Target: TR-116 ground weapon (micro-transporter beams projectiles to target, no line of sight required)
• Steam: Chromodynamic Armor, improves critical hits and damage of energy weapons

This is an awesome game that I saw today. They people hosting made 100 cupcakes, each one representing a certain game, board, video, or otherwise. This was an amazing effort, considering the detailed work and imagination that went into it.

The goal of the game was to identify all the games from the clues on top of the cupcakes. I challenge you to do the same and leave a list (left to right top to bottom) with the name of the game.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in HD

Trailer Park | MySpace Video

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from Tao Chen on Vimeo.

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.