Review: The Da Vinci Code adventure game

You've read the book. You've seen the film. So now, why not play the game of the book that's not the film? Well, as it happens, there are several very good reasons why not.

Fans of Dan Brown's catholic-baiting bestseller will, at least, be pleased that the game follows the novel's plot fairly faithfully. However, this is actually also one of the game's drawbacks, since there are few surprises for those already familiar with the way the story pans out.

For those that aren't (and there can't be many of you left), things kick off as Robert Langdon – a professor of something or other – is called to the Louvre to help solve a grizzly murder.

Soon, Langdon finds himself embroiled in an international mystery with hot French code-breaker Sophie Neveu in tow. Together they attempt to solve a series of cryptic puzzles and expose a 2,000 year-old conspiracy.

In translating the book and/or the movie into a game the developers have gone for an uncomfortable hybrid of point-and-click adventure and Tomb Raider-type action.

Almost every aspect of The Da Vinci Code – from moving your character around the environments to examining objects close up – feels awkward.

The puzzles themselves are often impossible to solve without continually pressing the 'hint' button.

To add insult to injury there are occasional bouts of pointless, crude combat to endure, not to mention a terrible camera system that regularly leaves you staring at a blank wall during the frequent in-game cut scenes.

All in all, The Da Vinci Code is a joyless, plodding nuisance of a game that will have you tearing your hair out in frustration.

Suspicions that it might just be a cheap cash-in, aren't helped by the fact that, while the Columbia Pictures logo appears everywhere, you won't see the mullet-haired likeness of Tom Hanks – or any of the movie's other actors, for that matter – anywhere near the game.

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System requirements:
1.8GHz processor
512MB of Ram
3GB hard disk space
DVD-Rom drive
Windows 2000/XP

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