The Da Vinci Code (PS2)

For any fan of the novel/movie, releasing a console game based on it would certainly put a couple of questions into your mind, questions like “what the hell are they thinking!”. When I first heard about the game I thought what a terrible idea and I really did think that the creators would’ve must have been working graveyard shifts just to bring the game up-to-par with the novel. I’m not going to give my opinion on the game just yet, but carry on ...
...of you who don’t know, the Da Vinci Code is fundamentally a murder which goes too far, or if you prefer, a little ott (over the top). As a result the mystery of the murder leads to multifaceted conspiracy theories, alongside sophisticated clues and hurdles the rules of logicality which leads to a shocking discovery that could rewrite the wonderful world of history and bring the Catholic Church crashing to its knees.
Sound interesting?? Well ... more

For any fan of the novel/movie, releasing a console game based on it would certainly put a couple of questions into your mind, questions like “what the hell are they thinking!”. When I first heard about the game I thought what a terrible idea and I really did think that the creators would’ve must have been working graveyard shifts just to bring the game up-to-par with the novel. I’m not going to give my opinion on the game just yet, but carry on reading please and you’ll soon find out.

For those of you who don’t know, the Da Vinci Code is fundamentally a murder which goes too far, or if you prefer, a little ott (over the top). As a result the mystery of the murder leads to multifaceted conspiracy theories, alongside sophisticated clues and hurdles the rules of logicality which leads to a shocking discovery that could rewrite the wonderful world of history and bring the Catholic Church crashing to its knees.
Sound interesting?? Well I don’t want to give too much away but would recommend watching the movie.

Moving onto the game……….
I’ve decided to use Subheadings so it’s a little easier to follow.

CHARACTERS
The two main characters in the game are Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu. If you’ve played the game then you’ll agree with me that the characters are by far the ‘real-deal look-alikes’, in fact the characters in the game are very, very dull. I’m aware that we play for the buzz/excitement and don’t really pay attention to the characters but you’ll definitely be put off – they show no expression whatsoever and lack tone, personality and even humanity. It’s like playing with programmed robots!!
You may be pleased to know that you’ll be able to play with both of the main characters, however I found it a little annoying that the only difference between them was appearance – they both play exactly the same!

STORYLINE
Most game-players are often disappointed to see that film-based games don’t live up to the reputation of the more enjoyable movies. Despite the points mentioned above, I can honestly say that the Da Vinci code follows both the book and movie remarkably well, so if you’re a fan of either then you certainly won’t be disappointed. While the game fits in with the brief description in Para 2, the creators have added little content to bulk up the game. Not enough to bring anything new to the very familiar story which I found excellent.

GAMEPLAY
Personally before buying the game I did question what the gameplay would be like, and I’m fairly sure many people have been put off by it.
Throughout the game you’ll investigate crime scenes and decipher puzzles. It may sound a little boring but it does keep you interested by mixing the skills you bring to the table – you’ll have to solve puzzles, be stealth alert and you’ll even enjoy some combat.
If you’ve seen the movie, read the book then you would’ve loved the puzzles and how they were solved etc. The majority of the game devotes itself around puzzle-solving, offering a variety which kept me interested as well as mentally challenged for ages.
The sometimes complicated gameplay will leave you to solve riddles, decode symbolic codes and unscramble anagrams. You’ll certainly have your work cut out for you as the man who was murdered left tons of clues all over. So at this stage of the review, you’re probably wondering what’s available – well you’ll have to use a black light to reveal hidden symbols, mix chemicals to clean paintings and even collect parts of a gun (ballista) to shoot the freaky mental monk + many more.
As well as offering all of the above, you’ll have to keep an eye out as the main character is wanted for murder. Police hover in some areas so you’ll have to ensure you’re neatly hidden away. Here’s the exciting bit, while uncovering the conspiracy theories surrounding the Catholic Church you’ll be attacked by several extremist monks. The only option available is to stand your ground, clench your fists, prepare for combat and admire the fancy punch em’ up features the game offers.

CONTROLS
The controls throughout the game are fairly simple. However when an enemy approaches you’ll have to throw a punch at him, if you hit him you’ll both go into like a grapple where you’ll have to overpower the enemy before attacking. If you manage to overpower the lunatics, button icons will appear at the bottom of the screen in which you have to successfully complete the sequence to attack. If you complete the sequence and depending on which move you choose to perform, you can punch, throw or push the enemy. However if you fail to complete the sequence, either you miss a button or take too long, you’re attack will fail.
When defending against attacks, you’ll have to dodge the attacks by pressing the buttons which appear on screen. The overall combat controls are quite simple to get used to and they do offer a change to the ordinary button bashing systems. However the length of combat can drag on in some circumstances.

GRAPHICS / PRESENTATION
This opposes the overall rating of the game in my opinion. The overall presentation could’ve been widely improved and the graphical content is rather poor. The game just doesn’t feel as smooth as others and you’ll find that the movement of characters and even objects is very jerky and looks like everything is moving on right angles. After playing the game a few times be careful that you don’t walk into unnecessary objects as you may get stuck and have to restart the level again.

LONGEVITY
I’m not absolutely sure how long it took me to complete the game but I’d estimate around 12hours. This does depend on how well you adapt to the game, including the puzzles and combat. If you’d consider yourself an extreme gamer then you’ll want to collect the secret items which ultimately means it may take more time to complete.
The length of the game is more than reasonable but don’t expect to enjoy the same excitement the second time round – once you’ve completed all the puzzles it’s pretty pointless going through it all again.
PRICE
When the game was first released, I paid £39.99 which I now think I paid too much. Therefore I’ve compile a few places where you’ll be able to pick the game up for a fair amount.
- Amazon is offering the game used for a measly £2.99
- eBay is offering the game at £4.00
- Game Station was offering the game on a 4for £20.00 deal.

CONCLUSION
It may sound terrible to recommend this game but overall the novel/movie has successfully been adapted to suit gamers. I’d definitely recommend this game to any fan of adventure games. You’ll definitely find something which you like, whether it’s the puzzles or the sleek combat mechanisms. If you’re a fan of the book or movie then you’d certainly enjoy jumping into the mystery and solving the mystery yourself. 

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