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It's back to Star Trek Online as Jeff continues flaunt his lifetime subscription to the staff.

It's not that there are too many indie games; it's that there aren't enough hours in a day to play all of them. The Joystiq Indie Pitch curates the best indies to play now and watch out for in the future. What's your game called and what's it about?

Bam fu is a two-, three- or four-player game on one device where you tap on pebbles - a fancy word for the buttons in this game - as quickly as you can to make them your color. Other players are trying to do the same and the colors change in a cycle, so the pebbles will definitely not stay on your color for long. The game goes on with you trying to reclaim your pebbles as fast as you can, until all, or almost all, pebbles are your color. That's when you win.

What's the coolest aspect of Bam fu?

We think that the coolest aspect of the game is that you can play it with everyone. Any gender, age or language; literally everyone!

The rules are so simple that it doesn't take more than a second to get them. In fact, we are yet to find a player who doesn't skip the the tutorial. Plenty of thought has gone into small details to keep things simple. For example, we are using the fingers on the hand to count your points, so it's immediately clear that you play to five.

We have also made the game accessible to colorblind players, which was a challenge for a game than distinguishes between players by color. This is why the pebbles were designed to point toward a player's corner.

Unrest is a most unusual game. There are no fail states, for one. The story continues if you fail. It's also an RPG that takes place in ancient India—which, I don't know about you, but that's not a place I've ever visited in a game. The Kickstarter video promises a lot of unconventional ideas, actually. Unlike most games, you won't have combat for the sake of having combat. From the Kickstarter page: Instead of meaningless combat encounters with dozens of enemies in every area, combat encounters will be few and unique, such as a knife fight for food in an alley, a duel between homeless humans and Naga (and more!) in a style similar to Sid Meier's Pirates. Importantly, violence will have consequences on the state of the world - too much bloodshed and you might just tip the city over the edge. That, to me, sounds enticing. Most games have a knack for giving me small existential crises as I think about the hordes I regularly tear down and how much time that padding takes away from me—and any game that gets rid of inconsequential battles feels like a godsend. They're so rare! Unrest isn't the prettiest game, but the ideas seem to make up for that. The Kickstarter page for Unrest can be found here.

Is it Gif? Or is it Jif? Someone should write a song! Oh look, someone did. That someone is musician Jonathan Mann, who recorded this song "Don't Say GIF" after GIF-inventor Steve Wilhit set the internet ablaze by announcing that his invention is meant to be pronounced "Jif," like the peanut butter. Is it gif? Or is it Jif? Or does it really not matter? Weigh in on this crucial, epoch-shifting debate here or over in TAY. (Via Laughing Squid)

In a recent Kickstarter update, developer Roundthird announced that its draw-your-own-game app Pixel Press will launch for both Android and iOS devices, once its funding goal of $100,000 is met.

Originally announced as an iOS exclusive, Pixel Press will now debut for Android in 2014 if funding succeeds. Roundthird will ramp up production for a simultaneous iOS and Android launch in December of this year if funding reaches a newly announced stretch goal of $125,000.

To create platforming challenges within Pixel Press, players start by drawing level layouts on printable graph paper. These layouts can then be imported and made playable by uploading a photo of the finished design. The app is aimed at students wishing to enter game development; a $40 "teacher package" reward tier includes multiple copies of Pixel Press and access to online educational resources.

Currently, Pixel Press backers have pledged over $33,000, as 21 days remain in Roundthird's funding campaign.

Let us once again reflect on the beauty that comes with limitation. These blocky renderings of world-famous superhero characters manage to convey just what works about each character design, despite the lack of detail that Cyclops, Superman or Spider-Man are usually drawn with. And they leave you craving the next logical step, which would be to see how they'd animate and feel in an actual game. For me, the Superman and Spider-Man drawings bring back memories of those characters' Atari 2600 games. Looking back, it's amazing how simple alternating pixels made you believe that Kal-El was zooming through the sky or the wall-crawler was dodging the Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs. Of course, players' own hungry imaginations helped. And it's that quality–the imagination of artist Ercan Akkaya–that makes these pixel heroes so cool. Head over to Akkaya's site to see the full set. Pixel Superheroes [Ercan Akkaya]

The Shishkebab is one of the more ridiculous melee weapons in Fallout—I mean, it's a freakin' flaming sword! And GreekGadgetGuru built one like it, in real life. The thing looks crazy dangerous. If you're the impatient type, skip to 2:50 in the video to see the thing in action. Now, compare his creation with the Shiskebab in the game (image via Gameranx): Not an exact replica, but it works similarly and mostly looks the same. I wonder if GreekGadgetGuru wrote up some schematics? I have a super mutant problem at current, you see. V2.0Flame Machete FallOut Shishkebab MUST SEE!!! [GreekGadgetGuru]

Which would you rather play? I think I'd go for Ghost Dog, because not only is the idea of a Call of Duty Dog game fantastic, this mock cover by Redditor Auto_aim1 is also excellent.

A new Retro Game Music bundle is underway, where you can get a bunch of classic game music for minimal bucks. Myst, The 7th Guest, Jazz Jackrabbit and Duke Nukem join a list of other notables, some of which have never been previously released.

E3 is almost here, a merry time of hype and trailers and demos and of course, press conferences. From June 10—13, video game publishers from around the world will descend on Los Angeles like a swarm of eager beavers, ready to try to sell us on the next big thing. Yes, beavers. A massive swarm of beavers. Kotaku will have all hands on deck to cover the big event, with reporters on the ground in LA and writers in the home office working around the clock to bring you comprehensive coverage of the show. And as usual, that show is preceded by a raft of big press conferences, all of which will be streaming right here at Kotaku. For your planning consideration, we've put together a schedule of those conferences. (If you want to sound like a cool industry insider, you can call them "pressers.") (You don't have to, though. Purely optional.) Since the shindig is in Los Angeles, all times are noted in Pacific Time, so add or subtract the appropriate number of hours for your respective timezones. THURSDAY, JUNE 6 Konami Pre-E3 Show 10:00 AM PST MONDAY, June 10 Microsoft 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST Electronic Arts 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM PST Ubisoft 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PST Sony 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM PST TUESDAY, June 11 Nintendo 7:00 AM PST In addition to all that, publisher Square Enix will be streaming all week from their spot on the show floor. We'll update this post with new information should any of that change. The easiest way to follow along with Kotaku's E3 coverage will be to follow the Kotaku E3 2013 tag. Let's get ready to do this thing; don't forget to pack a lunch.

Payday 2, the Overkill-developed crook sim, is set to launch in August. The news comes at the end of the trailer above, which teases a new web series set to start in two weeks.

We have yet to see any actual Payday 2 gameplay beyond a brief teaser issued in March, but feel free to case our gallery of in-game shots below. Payday 2 - which adds classes and a contracts database on top of its predecessor's core robbery mechanics - is planning its heist on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360. Pre-orders are open on Steam right now and all who sign up early will get an in-game loot pack.

Daredevil #26: Serious shit happens in this latest issue of Matt Murdock’s comic. Daredevil runs around scared senseless after getting his butt handed to him last issue by a physically superior doppelganger, terrified that he won’t be able to help Foggy Nelson his best friend’s battle against cancer. The reveal of the mastermind behind the psychological and physical attacks on Daredevil is a great one and further invests you into seeing how things will pan out. But the standout moment in this issue comes from a moment in the back-up story where Foggy goes to speak to a group of kids who are also fighting cancer. The way that Mark Waid and Chris Samnee weave the grim undertones of the main story—cancer as an impcable foe that you need friends to help you beat—with a more innocent use of superhero symbolism in the additional tale pretty touching. It’s a cliché that superheroes keep their identities secret to protect their loved ones but this issue drives home the fact that those friends and family members need more than safety. Sometimes, they need emotional support. Sometimes, they give it back. Fantastic Four #8: Superhero comics get frustrating in how they treat their status quos. Either the powers-that-be hold on so reverentially to The Way Things Have Always Been or they rush in to Change Things Up for a momentary spike in interest. But the recent shift with Ben Grimm’s character that Jonathan Hickman’s run established—where he gets to be human again for one week a year—has been a great tweak that strengthens the inherent sadness of the Thing’s plight. This issue has echoes of the classic Lee/Kirby stories but adds a more personal touch to the essential Thing conundrum, where a big-hearted guy feels cut off from the people that he loves. Ben goes to great lengths to re-visit people and places he loves in this issue and while the plot will read as familiar, it’s the subtext of past regrets and time tickling away that makes it more of a tearjerker. Great stuff. What about you? What sequences or covers from this week's comics made your eyeballs happy? Share ‘em in the comments below. To contact the author of this post, write to evan@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @EvNarc

If ever there was a Monster Hunter gesture that deserved a dance-party video, it was the Prance. And so the guys at Explosive Alan have given us this excellent montage of pitch-perfect prancing, taking their MH characters on a tour through the world of games, cinema, television and beyond. They even stop off at the Xbox One announcement. Prance away, you prancing fools. (Thanks, Cara)

Due to poor reception, Facebook is squelching the sale of the HTC First through carriers EE and Orange.

Just weeks after a dust-up involving the banning and reinstatement of Image Comics’ Saga #12, digital comics distributor Comixology has once again pulled dozens of comics with explicit content get pulled from their iOS app, Comic Book Resources reports.

The good news is, it'll only take 30 seconds of your life to decide for yourself.

Zombies chasing motorcycles and swimming in fish tanks, telling guys where to go pee and free Angry Birds Space.

Might and Delight, developers of the ultrahard platformer Pid, is going in a really different direction.

Apple will be hosting its WWDC keynote on the same day as Microsoft's E3 press conference.

Final Fantasy XIV was released in September of 2010, and it wasn't very good. On August 27, nearly three years later, Final Fantasy XIV rises again a realm reborn, and Square Enix is celebrating with a collector's edition that's much better than the original. Now available for preorder for the PC and PlayStation 3, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn features a new game engine, revamped mechanics and all sorts of tweaks designed to get rid of the bad taste left in the mouth of everyone that played the original disaster. The base game will be available for $39.99 on the PlayStation 3 and PC, while the extravagant collector's edition will run $79.99 and $69.99 respectively, though the PC collector's edition will be exclusive to Square Enix's online store. So what's in the big shiny box? Collector’s box designed by Yoshitaka Amano, legendary FINAL FANTASY artist80-page “Art of Eorzea” hardcover art book featuring never-before-seen concept art“The Waning of the Sixth Sun,” a special bonus video disc that takes a cinematic look at the events that led up to the realm being reborn“Sounds of Eorzea” album that features musical scores by renowned FINAL FANTASY series composersFive collectable character art cardsA FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn-branded security token to secure user accountsIn-game bonus items: Helm of Light, Baby Behemoth Minion, Coeurl Mount and Behemoth Barding I don't recall exactly what was in the original collector's edition, but I know it included 2010 Final Fantasy XIV, so this has to be better. Fans who roll the dice on a preorder will score early access, along with some digital goodness. You can find out more at the official site. Who's ready to give this another go? I'm scared, but oddly-excited.

Skiing great Jonny Moseley types his Tweets one letter at a time, just like the rest of us. And here he is chiming in on an exchange between Kotaku gossip Superannuation, Giant Bomb's Ryan Davis and me. This, folks, is what Twitter was made for. Just no one tell Jonny that Ryan Davis reviewed Jonny's PS2 game back in '02. Harshly. May time mend such wounds.

I bet you thought that huge thing behind the space marines was going to be a giant worm, or an alien bug or something! Nope, it's an even bigger space marine, with a gatling gun the size of a mid-grade sea vessel. Some very Halo-y piano in there at the end, too. No gameplay yet, but I guess we'll get to see that at E3.

With promise of a gameplay reveal during Sony's press conference in a few weeks.

When the folks at DeNA asked me if I wanted to talk to the producer of a new G.I. Joe game coming to IOS and Android, I had one question: "Real American Hero G.I. Joe, or movie Joe?" Obviously they answered correctly. Extending the partnership with Hasbro that brought us Transformers Legends, DeNA's G.I. Joe Battleground is a card-based strategy role-playing game that aims to include every character from the series that's ever had an action figure. Yes, that includes the generic mail-away character, and characters from the more recent animated series. And while there's some tricky licensing involving real-life Joes like wrestler Sergeant Slaughter or William "The Refrigerator" Perry, producer David Phan plans on trying to get them included as well. That's how dedicated his team is to making this the ultimate mobile game for the G.I. Joe cartoon fan. "This is the first G.I. Joe mobile game that's been based on the cartoon," Phan told me during an interview earlier this week. The live-action movies have gotten a little love, but Battleground will be the first foray into the animated continuity. It'll also be the first time players will be able to play as either Cobra or G.I. Joe — some titles have dabbled with the idea, maybe made a few Cobra characters playable, but here players will be able to form a team from either side and take them into card-based strategy RPG battles. I've been down on the mobile collectible card game genre, and to be honest, I'm not expecting much more out of G.I. Joe Battleground from a gameplay standpoint. I was told it played a bit like Blood Brothers, another DeNA collectible strategy RPG. There'll be player-vs.-player combat, Cobra-vs.-Joe worldwide events, but it'll be more of a management game that an actual role-playing title. And I'm fine with that, because it's not so much about the gameplay as it is collecting cards with gorgeous G.I. Joe art (they've tapped IDW comic book artists for some pieces) on one side and classic character bios on the other. "The old classic file cards have been retained, with most of the original writing by Larry Hama," said Phan, eliciting a giddy squeal from my end. Some of those file cards were downright hilarious. Did you know the character Hit & Run got his nickname because his parents were killed by a drunk driver? It's like calling Batman "Alley Shooting." Phan knew. In fact, his level of G.I. Joe trivia knowledge was pretty damn impressive, which bodes quite well for the game. Battleground will launch with more than 100 characters from the various G.I. Joe cartoons, with regular updates planned until all 300-400 characters are represented. When all is said and done, it'll be an amazing way for fans of the franchise to collect their favorite characters without having to consult eBay and clear off shelf space. G.I. Joe Battleground is coming soon to iOS and Android. Fans can pre-register at the game's official website for an exclusive Storm Shadow card at launch.

Current-gen consoles too, though that doesn't sound nearly as sexy.

What's CastleStorm? Well, it's a physics-based tower defense brawler... you know what? Why don't you just watch the devs explain it.

Sometimes you want to go slow with your tetronimo stacking. Plan it out. Set aside an hour or two, light some candles, put on some inspiring classical Russian music and explore your relationship with the legendary puzzle game to its fullest extent. Then there are times when your passion for Alexy Pajitnov's creation run so high you just want to grab it by the pixels and stack it as fast as humanly possible, spending all your power-ups in a brilliant, breathless two-minute burst. That's Tetris Blitz. Fans of the original shape-stacking game are often torn when it comes to offshoots and variations. Tetris is a pure, innocent thing that doesn't need to be painted up like some common modern-day puzzle game to attract attention. It's beautiful as it is. And that's true, but when you're playing the same game for years and years, sometimes you get the itch to spice things up a little bit. It may feel cheap and dirty, but on a certain level it can be quite fulfilling. Tetris Blitz dresses up the original in bright colors and gives you two minutes to do whatever you want with it. There's no time to spin your bits about, looking for the perfect fit. Instead, each piece presents you with a number of possible drop points. Purists can opt to handle things manual, if they wish, but letting the game do the work for you is much faster annd yields better results. Speed is of the essence here — if you want to maintain a multiplier you've got to keep the rhythm going. It wouldn't be a kinky Tetris-variant without toys, and EA's got an entire bedside table filled with interesting new ways to knock some out. Lasers destroy entire rows. Avalanches rain pieces down on the board, filling in the blanks. There's a power-up that reserves the negative space on the board as the game ends for a massive point explosion that will leave you panting and breathless. There's no charge for Tetris Blitz's manic two minutes, but there's always a cost. In this case it's the price of power-ups. As you play you'll earn coins, used to implement power-ups between rounds, but the really good shit costs, and those point explosions are intoxicating. If you want to keep them going, eventually you're going to have to leave a few bills on the nightstand. Your Facebook friends are watching, and you want to put on a good show. I love the original Tetris. Tetris Blitz may satisfy my needs and leave me temporarily satisfied, but it will never replace the original in my heart, for whatever that's worth. Tetris Blitz Genre: Timed TetrisDeveloper: Electronic ArtsPlatform: iOS, AndroidPrice: Free Get Tetris Blitz on iTunes - Get Tetris Blitz on Google Play

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Zarynx returns with another Gil Toss and this time, she’s talking about nerdy spending habits when it comes to the stuff we’re obsessed with. Geek Empress takes a groovy journey writing about acid trip games. Finally, PocoGrandes launches n00bism, a new recurring feature where you’re free to ask beginner questions without the fear of other people laughing at you. Awww, that’s so sweet… And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

This is truly unbelievable: Lego has built a 1:1 scale model of the X-Wing fighter using an astounding 5,335,200 bricks! It's as big as the real thing, capable of fitting the real Luke Skywalker—and Porkins. As you can see in these exclusive Gizmodo images and video, it reproduces the official $60 Lego 9493 X-Wing Fighter. But instead of being 560-pieces and a few inches long, this model uses more than five million pieces and it's 11-feet tall and 43 feet long, with a 44-foot wingspan. Just like the real X-Wing—and 42 times the size of the commercial Lego set. The unbelievable facts Here are all details about the model: Contains 5,335,200 LEGO bricks Weighs 45,979.61 pounds (including bricks and steel infrastructure)Height: 11 feet / 3.35 metersLength: 43 feet / 13.1 metersWingspan: 44 feet / 13.44 meters32 builders spent 17,336 hours (about 4 months) to construct Engines that light up and roar There's only one thing different from the original model: the engines glow and roar like the X-Wing in the movies. Check it out: Where to see it To capture these photos and videos, Gizmodo had to travel to an airplane hangar near New York City, where the model had arrived by ship from the Lego Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic. But you can see it for yourself now if you are in Manhattan, since it's on display in the middle of Times Square. According to Lego: The model was heavily engineered to withstand all the transportation, setup/break down and to ensure it was safe for Times Square given the subway system below and California’s seismic requirements for the Legoland California Resort installation. Not in New York? Don't worry. After three days in the city, the X-Wing will be transported to the West Coast, where it will stay until the end of the year. And, by the way, you will be able to sit inside: Exclusive Gizmodo images The thing is so huge and heavy that it requires an internal metal structure to support it: Here's one of the crates used for shipping: The model was created to promote the original Lego Star Wars animation TV series The Yoda Chronicles, which will premiere on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, May 29 at 8:00PM. You can get the original 560-piece version at the Lego Shop and Amazon. You can see my review of the Lego X-Wing Fighter 9493 right here. Images and video by Gizmodo's Nick Stango.

Hey, if you’re wondering what’s next from the House of Mario—and who isn't?—there’s going to be a Nintendo Direct broadcast during E3. It’s scheduled for 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 11th. What do you think they're going to announce?