Source: infendo.com

With Joe the Anything-But-A-Plumber drawing crowds, Mario has clarified which candidate real plumbers support on Technabob.

Like many among him, Mario is looking for change in the Mushroom Kingdom. No longer will he be led blindly into battle to “bring democracy” to the Koopas, nor will he stand for citizens resorting to eating mysterious mushrooms in lieu of a decent healthcare system. But what really pushed him past the brink was watching the value of his portfolio of gold coins crumble under the leadership of King Bowser.

Remember our games have pause buttons. Regardless of whom you support, be sure to exercise your right to vote tomorrow.

Source: infendo.com

Realistic renderings of Nintendo characters often pop up on the Internet. We’ve posted a few of them on Infendo before, including that creepy Bowser illustration. But this one takes the cake.

This time, Kirby gets the realism treatment courtesy of the humor fiends at Halolz. The image is disturbing, so hit the jump to see it at your own discretion. This is why Nintendo doesn’t do realism.

I may never play another Kirby game ever again.

Source: infendo.com

Despite what you may have heard, that little white box in your living room does have wireless online capabilities built in, which means it supports online gaming…at least in some capacity. More developers are finally delivering online experiences to the platform, and with the Wi-Fi library growing — albeit slower than a seedling — we’ve taken a light-hearted look at the ten best online games the Wii has to offer.

And yes, there are more than 10 online games for Wii.

10. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Due to epic failure, Brawl probably shouldn’t have made the cut. But one time, I sent out a messenger pigeon in search of a Brawl match, a Wii owner’s most efficient means of connecting with friends online. After only two weeks, my friends got the message, logged on and pummeled me without a single moment of lag. Even the pigeon was surprised.

09. Endless Ocean
Being disconnected from Brawl a few dozen times, you’ve likely worked up a sweat. Rinse that frustration away with the cool waters of Endless Ocean! While there isn’t anything spectacular about the game’s online component, it actually works. That alone qualifies it for this list, and surprisingly, swimming silently freely with friends is a lot of fun.

08. Mario Strikers Charged
Strikers’ online mode is simple but effective. You won’t find elaborate tournaments, but you can jump into matches against friends and random players almost seamlessly. Strikers erases public statistics weekly, which is unfortunate, but it allows four-player matches — two players per console — with minimal lag and only a few dozen friend code digits.

07. Battalion Wars II
I hold Battalion Wars in the highest regard, but I’m not very good at it. Actually, I’m deplorably bad, and this impacts my personal feelings toward the game’s robust online component. As absorbing and reliable as the game’s several online modes are, they are much less enjoyable when I’m being blown up by my 11-year-old brother.

06. Guitar Hero III
Blake really likes this one, and as he gushed in March, “only the ditching of friend codes and VOIP would make it a better experience. Guitar Hero doesn’t make you reconnect to Wi-Fi like Brawl does, rather it maintains a constant connect. But the gravy is receiving friend invite alerts much like Xbox Live anytime you have the game fired on.”

05. Madden NFL ‘09
No developer has taken the Wii online as aggressively as EA, and this year, Madden brings gridiron glory to Nintendo fans with an online component vastly improved from last year. Log on, and you’re greeted with bustling lobbies, a message system and stat-tracking. Friend codes, “sammiches” and the great city of Pittsburgh not included.

04. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
PES 2008 boasts an online mode that almost stands toe-to-toe with anything you’d find on the 360. Matches against friends and strangers are flawless, and you can even play an AI-controlled version of your friend’s career mode team via WiiConnect24. This one goes deeper than Jerry Springer’s final thought. And yes, this is the Wii version.

03. Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Online Wii gaming wasn’t very serious until this game kicked in the door — which was unlocked, by the way — with a broken cigarette dangling from its mouth and bullets spilling from its pockets. It shouted something about lots of modes and brutal 32-player online sniping sessions. I tried to run away, but it shot me in the back. Game over.

02. Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘09
EA set an online Wii standard this year with Tiger Woods, a four-player golfing experience with countless modes, lobbies, messages from friends and much more. You take your shots without waiting, playing through while your friends are also shooting, and the game tracks all progress. Best of all, there is nary a single cumbersome friend code.

01. Mario Kart Wii
I’d felt it a few times before, but never quite as convincingly as with Mario Kart Wii. After mopping up the floor with some friends, lapping some teenaged Asian kid, testing my mettle against online ghost data and competing in a few tournaments, it hit me. This online component isn’t “good for being free.” This is online so good, it’d be worth paying for.

Agree? Disagree? Share your own list in the comments.

Source: infendo.com

Opening a dentistry practice in Hyrule, just west of Kakariko Village.

Source: infendo.com

So apparently some people thought the Nintendo E3 press conference blew chunks. There were games worthy of being played by core gamers coming out for Nintendo systems this year, that’s undeniable, but for some reason Nintendo chose not to feature a majority of them during its time on center stage.

In that vein, Wired took a crack, It’s A Wonderful Life-style, at creating the E3 Nintendo presser that could have been. It’s a distinctly un-Shaun White affair, with plenty of shout-outs to games we mentioned here on Infendo during E3, like MadWorld and Pikmin 3, as well as trailers for games that did not show up at all (Mario, Zelda, Kid Icarus).

My own Fantasy E3 Nintendo presser would have included some online stuff: “We said WiiWare would redefine console gaming and indie development before, and we’re not going to completely blow it off at E3 and not say anything about it! Here are 12 classic games we’re giving proper 8-bit and 16-bit sequels to, and here’s a release schedule for WiiWare and the Virtual Console for the rest of the year! Oh, look, it’s Mother 3!”

That’s just a start. Judging from the comments last week, you probably have some fantasy E3 announcements of your own. What “should have” been included? How would Reggie and company have worded it? That’s the key to these comments. Keeping it funny. Humor trumps negativity any day of the week.

Source: infendo.com

And these, children, are what shall be referred to as “video games” henceforth! You will smile! I will have order! SMILE!

Source: infendo.com

I love Guitar Hero, and I plan on buying World Tour later this year, but I’m having a hard time understanding this marketing ploy by Activision. It’s a weird mish mash of vandalism, cheapness, bad taste and quick thinking (you know Rock Band’s guys had the same idea cooking in their heads too). Seriously, that’s the same posterboard stuff I can buy at my local CVS. Then again, it was quick thinking, and a lot of people like GH. Like I said, I’m torn… (hence the humor tag)

Source: infendo.com

If you use Google Reader for RSS feed management, try inputting the classic Konami Code and see what happens. Hint: Ninjas!

Source: infendo.com

The Onion does it again. I’m thinking they have a few game-playing Nintendo lovers over in that crazy office of theirs.

Source: infendo.com

Bowser and Birdo? Goombas? Easy peezy lemon squeezy. How about the ones that don’t get recycled as pop culture references in blog post after blog post? Do you think you can tell them apart from obscure dinosaurs?

Well ok, Mr. Fancy Pants. Get on over to Mental Floss’s latest quiz and find out for yourself. Then tell us how you did in the comments. I’m anticipating incredibly high scores from the Infendo faithful. I passed, by the way,with flying colors.