This game rules for one simple reason: the voice of Zeus is Brian Blessed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP11L9jRW94

Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon Review
I am Charlie The Unicorn, king of DSiWare reviews!

Pros
-Fun pinball gameplay
-Great graphics
-Solid physics
-Some interesting concepts thrown in.

Cons
-Only 2 modes (daily game, regular games)
-No button on menu to access high scores

Summing It Up
Gameplay: 8.5/10
-A great pinball experience.

Graphics: 8.5/10
-Very sharp graphics

Presentation: 6.5/10
-Interesting concept, but the lack of content holds it back.

Sound: 7.5/10
-Pretty nice here!

Lasting Appeal - 6/10
-This game doesn't have a lot.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

I just got this a few hours ago. Its AMAZING!!! I'm serious! Its one of my favorite dsiware titles. The physics are just like a real pinball table and the graphics are amazazazing. The only problems are the lack of content and there's only one table. Its a great game though.

hi, i started the highscore thread in a different topic but also wanted to express my gratitude for Iwata making this game. Possibly paving the way for an Icarus wii/ds game? Anyways, last night, I was playing it... Who knows, maybe my 30'th game game? and I discovered something I had never seen before.. I never read the instructions so, I never really knew all the different modes that could be discovered. The first one is more common and its called Zeus's Challenge. Now, I cant say how it is accomplished but I played over 30 minutes and accidentally stumbled upon this mode. In this mode, you need to shoot the left oracle mode thingy that shoots the ball to the top flipper.. he says something to you and you realize that you are racking up the points.. But this mode lasts a limited amount of time and you must do this over and over as much as you can.

The other mode is called Pandoras Box. Has anyone else encountered it? It is very dramatic and i got goose bumps from it.. Maybe because i wasnt expecting it.. But under medusas ball catch, there is a lamp that rarely turns on.. if it is on it is a noticable blue and I believe it turns on when you somehow collect all 5 of the those blue icons on the top of the bottom screen. Once all are collected, you then must shoot that medusa catch and OMG,, what happens next is epic. This box comes up from the ground and you think you did something bad because you loose all your balls. but then moments later and after dialogue which i can not remember, about 5 or 6 balls drop . they say you get like 90 seconds to collect X amount of lightening bolts..

If you havnt encountered this yet, keep playing. and please let me know if you get this far!!! thanks

Hey buddy, thanks for the heads up! Yes, I have noticed these modes, but never knew how to play them! Thanks for clearing this up! I can't wait to play Zeus's challenge or Pandora's box now! ;) Btw, I am STILL playing this game like 4-5 times per day and I absolutely still stand by my original 9/10 rating, a wonderful game!! The best there is on dsiware, imho! :) Lets have more! Maybe a Pinball Pulse full on DS cart!

Neat. I really like this game, because it feels just like a real pinball table!

Really happy to hear more of these positive comments, guys. Now I'm more keen on getting it than I was before.

"Pinball Pulse: OUTER SPACE" lol

Okay to clear things up. Pandoras Box Mode is unlocked by doing the 5 things below in 1 game. The 12 tributes must be done within 1 ball. If you collect the 12 tributes and light up all the red boxes, you will unlock Hercules Challenge. I actually passed Hercules Challenge and you just get tons of points. Back to Pandoras Box. Once the box comes up, it will, I believe, start to rotate at 45 degree intervals. if the sides of the box is aligned up/down, you can shoot the balls into it from the bottom flipper as if you were going for the ramp at the top. If the box is at a 45 degree angle, you will need to hit it from the top right flipper as if you were shooting the big Head. You need to shoot all the balls into the box to (who knows).. if you pass this mode please let me know .. ive gotten the box mode only 3 times. and its very difficult..
1.Pegasus Video Mode (get through it)
2. Collect all 12 tributes with one ball
3. Defeat Medusa
4. Pass all 6 Quests within a game
5. Get Super Jack Pot from Siren Multiball

Once PB initiates, the table turns off and all your balls go to the bottom and you cant use your flippers. It really feels like you broke the machine or tilted it. And the music stops and its just this eerie silence.. I LOVE IT..

we need alien crush returns dsi ware

okay, this is embarrassing, but i think this game is really fun and i want to be able to play it to the fullest extent, so i'm going to swallow my pride (you know how it is being a geek... on those rare occasions where you really just can't figure something out on your own, you feel like you lose all your geek credibility) and ask a really stupid question: how the hell am i supposed to know what i need to do in order to complete each quest? i know that the requirements are all laid out in the help menu, but am i expected to just memorize all of that information before actually engaging in game play? as far as i can tell, you can't pause mid-ball and switch to the help menu for reference as needed, right? i've never played a pinball game before, and i'm wondering if pinball convention possibly assumes that the player has existing knowledge of certain pinball rules or terms or secrets that wouldn't otherwise be obvious to someone without the relevant experience. i have no idea what "video mode" does, or what "lock is lit" means, etc., and while the instructions tell you what to do for specific tasks, they don't explain all the terminology, and much of the information seems to be dependent on your ability to memorize every intricacy of the board, and even then, the map is full of tiny details that are pretty much impossible to read, let alone remember once you're playing the game! i understand that as a pinball n00b (<-- i'm amused that my firefox spellchecker has no problem with that), it will probably take some practice to figure out how to execute some of the more difficult shots, or learn how to have enough control over the ball to do things on purpose, but that's all fine and normal learning curve stuff, whereas it feels like i'm completely missing something obvious when it comes to knowing what to do for the quests and bonuses. do i need to have the volume way up and listen really carefully to the voices? i play most games with the sound muted, but i've played this one a few times with the sound on, and i don't recall gaining any particular insights that way, but maybe i wasn't paying attention?
anyway, i just can't stand feeling as blank as a pageant contestant being asked a question about current events, and the basic gameplay (even with my limited skill) totally provides me with hours of mindless entertainment, so i'd appreciate any help, even if it has to be broken down for me into idiot-sized pieces... thankyou!

"i have no idea what "video mode" does"
After video mode is lit, when you go to Hades -- that light tower on the far left of the screen -- the game puts you into a little mini-game on the box on the top screen (you dodge fireballs while picking up stars in a weird 2D game).
"lock is lit"
That means you can store Siren balls when hitting a ball in the ramp next to Zeus' head, which only opens after getting Lock is Lit. Just go to the Oracle, then wait till she counts down 3-2-1 FLIP! and flip from the top flipper to know which ramp I'm talking about When you get all three extra balls you get a Siren Multiball, which is where a few balls show up on-screen and you can get Jackpots for an insane amount of points.
Hope that helps. If you have any more specific questions regarding the game I'll give my best answer.