The Da Vinci Code

Gamernode (7.6 out of 10)

The game is not an "action" game in the strictest sense of the word, but does provide a suspenseful, though sometimes plodding, approach to the adventure game genre. Addicts of gut-wrenching, adrenaline spiked shooters will most likely shun this game like the plague. But the game is not meant to be a seat-of-your-pants action thriller, but a different kind of game in which wits and logic prevail over bullets and guns. The storyline is engaging and will keep puzzle lovers, and mystery-detective novel fans happy with delight. The Da Vinci Code will have the greatest appeal, ironically, to those who have not read the book or seen the movie, as a strong familiarization with Dan Brown,s work may actually detract from the gaming experience. For those who are familiar with Brown,s work, an open mind, patience and a love of puzzles may offer a surprisingly satisfying experience.

Next Level Gaming (73 out of 100)

As expected, The Da Vinci Code contains a lot of puzzle solving. Some of these puzzles are based on those from the movie/book (such as the clues hidden on the Mona Lisa), and some are exclusive to the game. One of the most important considerations in a puzzle-heavy game is to make sure that the puzzles don’t get stale- one can only take so many cryptographs. Fortunately, you don’t get that feeling in this game. Even though there are a good number of messages to decode (hence the title), your obstacles aren’t limited to word games. Of course, many of these puzzles are your standard find-the-hidden-item-to reveal-the-hidden-key-to-open-the-hidden-door type puzzle, but it helps to break the monotony.

MAN!AC (69 out of 100)

Befriedigende Buchumsetzung, deren bester Teil die inspirierten Knobeleien sind.

GameSpot (6.5 out of 10)

It may sound like a terrible idea, but Dan Brown's ubiquitous novel The Da Vinci Code has been successfully translated and adapted to a video game. And, believe it or not, the results are not all that bad. In fact, The Da Vinci Code game offers a challenging and varied gameplay experience that will satisfy the amateur cryptographer in everyone. However, the game is brought down by subpar production values and a dialogue-heavy story that has a tendency to drag at times.

Worth Playing (6.4 out of 10)

Licensed games can be good. Really. Just look at Chronicles of Riddick. Of course, they can also be pretty bad. Look at, say, Chicken Little. To get a game that's just slightly above average requires a license that wasn't really meant to be a video game being fairly well-implemented or something comparable. If you're used to essay and review form, you know where I think The Da Vinci Code goes – licensed content that is actually moderately good, though nowhere near amazing. Fans of the book and/or movie may want to give it a look or rental, and dedicated adventure game fans might be pleased as well.

Gamesmania.de (63 out of 100)

Je tiefer die Verwertungskette, desto schlechter die Qualität. Nach dem guten Buch und dem annehmbaren Film folgt mit dem Spiel der Tiefpunkt. The Da Vinci Code – Sakrileg ist leider das von mir befürchtet lieblose Lizenzspiel geworden, dem man an allen Ecken anmerkt, dass die Entwicklungszeit knapp war und die teure Lizenz keine großen Freiheiten zugelassen hat. Meiner Meinung hätte das Spiel als klassisches Adventure im Stil von Black Mirror trotzdem hervorragend funktionieren können. Viele der Rätsel sind durchaus anspruchsvoll und interessant, doch der Actionpart ist aufgrund der undynamischen Kämpfe dermaßen misslungen, dass man sich mehr durch das Spiel quält. Da auch die Technik alles andere als überzeugend ist, wie etwa die viel zu dunkle Grafik, die dicken schwarzen Balken oben und unten am Bildschirm und die katastrophale Steuerung der PC-Version, dürfte auch der größte Dan Brown-Fan sein Geld lieber für den nächsten Roman sparen.

GameZone (6.3 out of 10)

It’s difficult to avoid the worldwide sensation that is Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” - a novel that sparked a number of “code breaking” books that seem to fill shelves at book stores as well as fuel a lawsuit and now a blockbuster motion picture starring Tom Hanks. It didn’t take long for a game that coincides with the recent summer box office hit to be released and while most games based on a movie are rushed productions that aren’t that good, The Da Vinci Code for the PS2 has enough goodies to make the inner cryptologist in us want to break this code.

GameCell UK (6 out of 10)

The Da Vinci Code is a classic movie tie-in, where deep down there’s a good premise hidden under layers of profitability and rushed development. I quite enjoyed the puzzle parts of the game and although the game isn’t too long it didn’t feel stale like other basic tie-ins. The basic graphics and the Godawful combat sections really grate and unfortunately haunt you at every stage. If you read the book and liked the puzzles but don’t fancy an exercise in masochism like Myst then have a look. But I’d advise renting it before you get burned for 30 notes: you probably won’t be able to stand the circus combat!

Boomtown (6 out of 10)

As tie-ins go, the Da Vinci code is hardly a prime candidate for a videogame conversion. After all, talky pseudo-theological conspiracy thrillers don't tend to translate into a videogame medium. Had this been the early 90s, the Da Vinci Code video game would probably have been a side scrolling platformer - where players shot Jesus discs at an army of killer monks and loose cannon French cops, whilst traversing a series of tourist hotspots with a large number of gaping holes and levitating platforms in them.

Silicon-Fusion.com (6 out of 10)

If you have not heard of The Da Vinci Code then a visit to the doctor for a check up may be in order. Counted as being the sixth best selling book of all time behind amongst others; Gone With the Wind, the Guinness Book of Records and of course the main inspiration, the Bible, The Da Vinci Code has now been made into a mega-blockbuster film and as a result a game based on said film.

Game Informer Magazine (6 out of 10)

At its core, The Da Vinci Code (no matter what medium you’re experiencing it in) is about an ancient mystery unraveled by two intellectuals. At what point, then, would one expect or demand that they get into frequent fistfights with the authorities? This is but one of many questions that the development team at The Collective had to answer when designing this adventure title and, while I don’t envy their position at all, I have to say that many of the core ideas don’t work very well.

UOL Jogos ( )

"The Da Vinci Code" é um daqueles pálidos games que acompanham uma superprodução cinematográfica. Feito sem tempo suficiente, traz problemas com controles, visão de câmera e principalmente na mecânica de combate, a ponto de diminuir seus dois únicos trunfos: a investigação e os quebra-cabeças. Quem gosta desta parte mais cerebral - e provavelmente é fã do livro - potencialmente terá boas horas de desafio e diversão, mas não sem ficar decepcionado com combates que são uma verdadeira perda de tempo.

4Players.de (60 out of 100)

Zwei Fragen vorweg: Wer hat diese Nuscheltonaufnahmen mit dem Hanks-Sprecher gemacht? Ist das keinem aufgefallen? Das ist eine akustische und schauspielerische Katastrophe. Und wer will in einem Spiel wie Sakrileg Knockouts und Schleichangriffe sehen? Die sind ja sogar solide gemacht, aber wirken bei einem Harvard-Professor völlig fehl am Platz. Selbst wenn man Action und Adventure kombiniert, was ja spätestens seit Fahrenheit richtig gut unterhalten kann: Dann muss man sich auch auf wenige, aber dafür packende Momente konzentrieren! Es gibt ja Ansätze dazu, aber viel zu wenig. Gut ist, dass das Spiel einige interessante Rätsel, Item-Kombinationen sowie ein umfangreiches Archiv bietet, das euch mit Querverweisen wenigstens etwas Hintergrundinformationen über die Mysterien bietet; auch das Hinweissystem gefällt mir. All das rettet das Abenteuer zusammen mit der grundsätzlich interessanten Story auf ein gerade noch befriedigendes Niveau.

Cheat Code Central (3 out of 5)

Not even Dan Brown is more of an authority on The Da Vinci Code than I am. For one thing, I'm not biased. Not only have I done a lot of research on conspiracy theories, the supernatural, theology and secret societies, but I've read The Da Vinci Code book, have seen the movie, a number of expose documentaries on it and now I've played the videogame. So does that make me an expert? Maybe only in my mind, but that's good enough for me.

Game Chronicles (5.8 out of 10)

Well, let it be known I am probably only the second person to have not read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. However, I did see the movie this past weekend, and was pleasantly surprised, despite lackluster reviews. So going into this game, I was curious to see how well it followed the movie, and how they would combine the puzzle elements into this hybrid-action/adventure game.

Play.tm (53 out of 100)

For fanatics of the book who want to live out the experiences of its characters in a more interactive sense, the game might just appeal. There's about ten hours of play, much of which is an explanation of the plot, while the rest is a pedestrian and pretty boring romp in terms of game play mechanics, meaning that in the end you'll probably just want to complete the game for completing its sake. Despite the potential of the Da Vinci Code, this adaptation of the story is far from cracking.

Jolt (UK) (5 out of 10)

The Da Vinci Code is not so much a story as a phenomenon. Dan Brown’s conspiracy thriller has captured the imagination of millions around the world, to the extent that it’s a rare day when you travel on public transport and don’t encounter someone who is reading a copy. With the movie currently doing the rounds, the novel’s profile has been raised even higher, thus making it the ideal time in which to launch this, the Da Vinci Code game.

Pro-G (5 out of 10)

Whether you thought Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was a brilliant thriller, utter tosh, or the work of the devil, it always had the potential to bring some new life to the moribund adventure genre when the inevitable movie brought the inevitable game. With its historical conspiracies, overzealous French police, French partner, and occasional murderous zealots, the story could almost have been a Broken Sword game, and the involvement of Revolution's Charles Cecil must have had genre fans waiting with baited breath.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) (2.5 out of 5)

You've heard it all before. Movies. Licenses. Lameness. Sadly, the videogame incarnation of the popular piece of fiction (yes, it's fiction!) and now the equally popular movie doesn't mess too much with that familiar recipe. But what it lacks in innovative gameplay or polish it makes up for in effort. At the very least, The Da Vinci Code tries to go well beyond what was presented in both the book and the movie - even at the cost of staying totally true to Dan Brown's "original" story.

GamePro (US) (2.5 out of 5)

The box for The Da Vinci Code implores you to "unlock the code," which is intriguing. Could dark and apocalyptic secrets lie within, could your world be thrown out of control by the information is contains? The answer is a blunt no. In fact, the only thing you'll unlock in The Da Vinci code is the invaluable secret to falling asleep. 2K Games and developer The Collective try to capitalize on Ron Howard's just-released feature film, but ultimately end up creating a gaming experience that's one part puzzler, one part stealth waste of time, and all parts boring.

Digital Entertainment News (den) (5 out of 10)

Movie tie-ins for videogames are traditionally third-person adventure games, running through the plot of the movie while battling new generic foes. The Da Vinci Code should be different by its very nature, however – the movie and book were all about solving puzzles. The word ‘code’ is in its name. To stay true to the source material, you’d expect the gameplay to take after great puzzle games of the past. Does the Da Vinci Code do this? Well, yes and no.

FOK!games (50 out of 100)

Het is toch wel bekend dat games gebaseerd op films vaak niet goed aanslaan en ook The Da Vinci Code maakt hier geen uitzondering op. Het alom bekende The Da Vinci Code als boek staat toch wel bekend om al het duistere in het verhaal, helaas heeft The Da Vinci Code als game dit mysterieuze sfeertje niet over weten te brengen op mij als gamer. The Da Vinci Code als game is een slecht uitgewerkte action/adventure-game die probeert mee te gaan met de hype rondom het boek van Dan Brown en dat is jammer.

Jeuxvideo.com (10 out of 20)

Phénomène de société à sa sortie en librairie, Da Vinci Code finira donc sa carrière en jeu très moyen. La réalisation graphique franchement dépassée associée à un gameplay creux et sans âme pénalisent le titre pour le rendre à l'image du film : loin d'exploiter son potentiel maximum.

IGN (4.8 out of 10)

As a videogame, The Da Vinci Code captures a fraction of the intrigue from the best-selling novel. It weaves an interesting tale of conspiracy and corruption, but the gameplay simply doesn't back it up. It doesn't offer enough puzzle variety for serious adventure fans, and the combat will irritate or bore most action aficionados. Sure, a few of the puzzles work well, but in the end it just doesn't amount to much.

Lawrence (4.5 out of 10)

Hardcore fans of the Da Vinci Code book must be absolutely horrified lately. The movie has been getting almost exclusively terrible reviews, and this new licensed game is an absolute mess in many ways. Attempting to cash in on the huge success of Dan Brown’s novel, it ends up being an absolute bore in most aspects.

Daily Game (4.5 out of 10)

Before venturing into the movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, critics warned of a plot that followed the book too closely, of a movie that dragged, and of a would-be blockbuster that just sort of fizzled out. Good thing they didn't get their hands on the videogame. If The Da Vinci Code movie is slow, the videogame must move in reverse. To its credit it does fill in some interesting "behind the scenes" plot points, but those points, like the rest of the by-the-book game, is far too dependent on CG cutscenes for its own good.

Yahoo! Games ( )

Lurking out in movieland is a passively entertaining film about the secrets of Leonardo Da Vinci. It's got heroes sneaking through the Louvre investigating the works of the master, and even a Catholic conspiracy of sorts. Unfortunately, that movie is Hudson Hawk, not the adaptation of Dan Brown's tightly plotted but shabbily written The Da Vinci Code. Sadly, the video game treatment is as threadbare an entertainment as the movie and book it's based on.

GameSpy ( )

Fans of The Da Vinci Code book or movie will likely find at least some entertainment value in the video game adaptation. However, on the whole the game is a pretty bland and uninspiring attempt to cash in on a successful franchise. The game's poor presentation and frustrating combat system make the mystery behind The Da Vinci Code one that most gamers would be better off leaving unsolved.

1UP (3 out of 10)

Developer the Collective (with Charles Cecil on puzzle design) shouldn't have turned out a bad licensed puzzle-adventure game. The Collective regularly makes good (and sometimes great) licensed titles, and Charles Cecil designs great puzzles. There's an interesting theory that they actually made a really decent game but somewhere it got intercepted by the church and replaced with the game we have here. The puzzles, the atmosphere, and the core of the combat system all show what

Game Revolution (D)

Even before I began playing The Da Vinci Code, the mysteries were piling up. Why would such a non-game-like book and film be adapted into a game? Why were my editors grinning like a bunch of self-satisfied Mona Lisas when they tossed me the copy? What new secret could lie behind the Da Vinci programming code?

Gamers Europe (2 out of 10)

Leonardo Da Vinci has a lot to answer for. As well as churning out some pleasant-enough pictures whose quality has subsequently been blown way out of proportion (ever actually seen the Mona Lisa? It's just a tiny, dirty picture of a lady with a wonky face), he's now given his name - albeit unwittingly - to the Da Vinci Code and all its related spin-offs and cash-ins. And here we have one such cash-in - the obligatory game of the film of the book. The movie seems to be getting lukewarm reviews though, so is this one of those rare cases like The Chronicles of Riddick where the game exceeds the film it's based on? Alas... no.