The Da Vinci Code
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: 2K Games Developer: The Collective Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Adventure
Graphics & Sound: The Da Vinci Code's graphical presentation has its high points and there were quite a few impressive visuals that really seemed to push the PS2's capabilities. Though there wasn't anything really flashy about the graphics, the fact that the game, like the movie and book, are very much character-driven, a lot of effort went into putting as much detail into the faces and clothes as they could muster. Locations are also a major part of this game's visuals. Since many of the events from the game take place in real-world locations, The Collective seems to have really captured the look and feel of the museums, churches and landmarks. Though the layout of the locations might not be exactly correct (or they might, I really don't know), what I saw in the game definitely gave me the same feeling that I've had from photos and documentaries I've seen on the various locations. Though the game doesn't use the likeness and voice of Tom Hanks (who played Dr. Langdon in the movie), the voice actor does a fairly good impression of him. There were several times when it was obvious that they didn't get Hanks, but when I first turned on the game, I did a double take and had to reach for the book to verify that they didn't get the actor. As for the other characters, there didn't seem to be much effort into replicating the movie's actors. I was never under the impression that Captain Fache or Sir Leigh Teabing were played by their silver-screen counterparts (Jean Reno and Ian McKellen).
Gameplay: Being an avid adventure game fan, when I heard they were going to make The Da Vinci Code into a game, I thought it would be a problem solver - what else could the game be? And for the most part, it is. Unfortunately, it seems the developers weren't content with making the game just an adventure title. Instead, elements of action were tossed in, and somewhat poorly at that. Puzzles come in two flavors, those found in the movie and new ones for those fans that already know all the answers. If you have already read the book or seen the movie, then you can make your way through about 75% of the puzzles this game throws at you. When you have to decrypt the message that Sauniere scrawled next to his dying body, it shouldn't take you very long. But when you go to visit the Mona Lisa, instead of the phrase, "So dark the con of man" having to be deciphered, you are given a much longer and complex code to break. In general, the game gives you a clean interface for most of the problems it possesses. For instance, when trying to decrypt the Mona Lisa message, you highlight a symbol and it shows you where that character shows up in the rest of the message. You can then select a letter from a keyboard display and all of those symbols are replaced. The game has more of a interactive movie feel to it then a game. I found myself watching in-game animations and conversations more than actually playing and exploring. The typical structure of the game seems to be: watch a clip, solve a puzzle, maybe fight someone and watch another clip. One night I was eating dinner while playing and I would solve a problem, put down the control and eat while the game played itself out. I only had to pick up the controller three or four times in the course of that meal. Is this a bad thing? Well, it is a way to get the game's dense story out in an effective manner, but I know a lot of people would complain about this style of story-telling in video games. The non-adventure part of the game is where it loses something. Fairly frequently, you will run into guards, Silas, or other people who are trying to stop you. So there is a combat system built into the game. I will go into detail a bit more about this in Game Mechanics, but in short, the system is not the best and leads to drawn-out, frustrating fight after drawn-out, frustrating fight and gets your mind out of the problem-solving mode it needs to be in for many of the puzzles.
Difficulty: The Da Vinci Code's difficulty is hard to judge. Since I have already read the book and seen the movie, I found it easy to get a lot of the puzzles, but I don't know how hard it would be to players unfamiliar with the specifics of the story. For instance, early in the game you have to get rid of a tracking device. If you've seen the movie you know what it is attached to, while if you haven't seen it, it might take a little more thought. The action events on the other hand (that would be the fights touched on above and discussed in the next section), add a lot to the game's difficulty. But this isn't necessarily because the enemies are tough, it's because of the hard to handle combat system.
Game Mechanics: Okay, so The Da Vinci Code's combat system. When in a fight, the game uses the Square, Circle and Triangle buttons to denote different types of actions. If you press the Square button, your character (be it Langdon or Sophie), swings a punch. If you are struggling with your opponent (meaning the two of you are grabbing each other's shirts), then selecting Attack (Square), Push (Triangle) or Throw (Circle) initiates a second action that you need to perform. Selecting Attack displays three face buttons and requires you to tap them in the presented order. If you hit the wrong buttons or tap them in the wrong order, then your attack will either fail completely or be less effective. When you select to Push an opponent, you can point them in a direction and shove them off. This is good for pushing them into walls or corners, so that they have less room to maneuver. Using the Throw command will send them farther and actually do some damage. When you enter this mode, you will have to rapidly press the X button. If you gain control, then you will be able push them away. On paper, this system doesn't sound bad. It isn't until you get into a fight that its flaws show up. Typically, the only way to end the fight (short of choosing the Run option) is to select Attack when struggling. The problem with the Attack option is that the buttons you have to press must be done quickly and any flaw will deal more damage to you than your opponent. Techniques like Push and Throw yield almost exactly the same result and typically I used that just to get the opponent off of me so I could attack with a punch instead of having to deal with the three-button-combo. Whether you master the system or not -- these fights take time. Typically, you will spend about two minutes trying to stop one of your opponents only to find another one in the next room. Because of the problematic controls -- this got frustrating fast. The Da Vinci Code is an adventure title at heart, as it should be. Unfortunately, the fighting aspects that were put in detract a lot from the problem-solving aspects. This game may only be for those people who really want to go through the story again and experience more puzzles after the style of the book/movie, but that is it. Even hardcore adventure gamers might want to shy away from this title.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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