I’m pretty psyched about this. While they had a small set of fans, Frequency and Amplitude never really tok off on the Playstation 2, but were the first attempts at rhythm music games. The two titles paved the way for the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises, albeit using the traditional controller, instead of a plastic guitar or drumkit.

I’m pretty excited to see Rock Band Blitz going back to those roots — with a few new twists and improvements.

Now if I had a working (non red-ringed) Xbox 360 to download this to. Saving ever so slowly…

Rock Band Blitz Announced for PSN/XBLA, Can Access Existing Rock Band DLC

Always love Google and ThinkGeek’s April Fools jokes. Sadly, with it being on a Sunday this year, I saw less of it.

Check out Google’s 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System Google Maps implementation:

SimCity recently released this trailer, though its near-the-end disclaimer about the video not representing gameplay means we really don’t know what to expect for the fifth incarnation of the game.

Trailer looks great, but we really don’t know much about the game itself, other than the fact that it will be multi-player.

Regardless, it’s one I’ll look to buy next year, if it’s available for the Mac that is.

Check out this mashup of Super Mario with Portal, bringing the NES classic into a new century. Basically, it’s the mid 80′s Mario game you know and love with the added twist of being able to open portals to transport Mario, Goombas, etc. below. Check out the video below for a better idea of the concept.

Super Mario Bros. Meets Portal: Mari0

Also, Super Mario related, check out this Super Mario 3 Airship built from 8,000+ Legos:

Super Mario Bros. With a Portal Gun

Oh man on man. This brings back a lot of memories — especially the X-Com series. Here’s a solution for playing some of these classic personal computer games of days of past on modern hardware.

I see some classic gaming in my future — especially the X-Com series.

17 Retro Games You Can Run on Modern PCs

I’m getting fewer and fewer hours with the old XBox 360, though my son is starting to be intrigued by the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series of games. See the thumbnail to the right.

Love that picture!

Anyway, this first trailer of the new GTA game looks great, and it seems that Rockstar Games has continued to make good and deep games in the series.

This trailer also reminded me that I never finished GTA IV.

I got stuck on the last mission. Maybe I need to revisit.

On the heels of yesterday’s YouTube find (First Person Mario), check out this real-world version/take on Mario Kart:

Here’s a vision of what the original Super Mario Brothers from the mid-80′s might have looked like had it come into existence in current-day gaming. Obviously the 3D is a given, but notice the achievements and lower-lefthand corner updates to how Goombas and the like are being taken down.

All the swirling rumors around a new Nintendo console (the successor to the Wii) coming soon were true, though there are really no details out there yet. It sounds though like it’s going to try to capitalize on it’s failed meshing of the GameCube and the Gameboy Advance back in the day, making the controller have a screen that interacts with the console. It will undoubtedly also enter into the high definition space, possibly with actual 1080p graphics. Prices of the new console are expected to be pricey — in the $400 range.

But let’s be honest. People will buy it as long as it continues to put gameplay first — games like Super Mario *, Mario Cart, Zelda and things that are accessible to non-gamers like Wii Sports.

New Nintendo Console Confirmed

Looking to play a little uber-retro Atari on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? Atari just released a huge number of games to the store. They’ve done a couple of little upgrades though. Some of the games allow for bluetooth-enabled multiplayer, while all the released games are compatible with ThinkGeek’s soon-to-be released iCade mini-cabinet for the iPad.

Atari Brings 100 Retro Titles to iOS in “Atari’s Greatest Hits”!