Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mmmmm.....FOOD FOR BRAIN!!, May 26, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow....I just finished beating the game and it was quite a thrill ride!! It's got drama, suspense, fighting and PUZZLES!! Oh, the puzzles!! Makes me feel like a kid on an easter egg hunt! My particular faves were the cryptography puzzles...Brings back memories of when I was a child...Where I lived in a place where the invasion of my diary (or anything private) was never a question of 'if' but 'WHEN', so I came to learn cryptography all TOO quickly (before I even learned there was a name for it, matter of fact).
These puzzles aren't brainbusters mind you, but it gives your mind a brisk little workout. Be advised: keep a notepad beside you as you'd most likely need it (to store clues as you play). And for those whose brainpower's a little on the flabby side: keep ASPIRIN handy.
In case you might wonder why I don't give this game a perfect 5:
The movements on this game can be a bit of a problem...For instance, if you may walk up to a door (which requires a key) and attempt to unlock it with your key, it MAY NOT work, which sends you on an exasperating search of the area for what to do next since that "apparently" isn't it...Out of desperation/curiosity/frustration you happen to try the door w/ key again and IT WORKS?? Why didn't it the 1st time?? Not a worry if it happened once, but it to me happened several times throughout the game. The other thing is, how you can pore over vast expanses of houses,buildings etc. with many rooms going, inch by inch only to realize there was 1 item to find?? And having your partner walk so close to you can really aggravate you sometimes (like if you're trying to make a sneak attack on an enemy or even WALKING OUT THE DOOR!!) Or walking for (seemingly) miles to your next objective only to have go way out of your way (again) just to fetch ONE item that you need to proceed (like at Westminster Abbey)...That can be a bit tedious....But then again, if the dots were close enough together, there'd be no mystery to solve, right?
So, for a stimulating change from the mindless, all-too-common BUTTON-MASHER games out there, The Da Vinci code is the one you may have been waiting for...
...It may even interest people who are not normally interested in playing video games, it's just that appealing and engaging.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cracking the Code for Yourself..., May 26, 2006
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
As far as games based off movies go, they don't always tend to be good. That doesn't mean they're bad, it simply means they're not up to standards. The Da Vinci Code is one of those games. There are times when playing that the game feels a little unfinished, and just all out unexciting. It follows the story of the book and movie quite well, and it's nice to play through it yourself, but as far as a quality game goes, The Da Vinci Code is far from being of fantastic quality.
Playing as Robert Langdon or Sophie Neveu you'll have to escape from the police, seeing as how Robert is framed for murder, and along the same lines, uncover a conspiracy of the catholic church by solving puzzles and trying to fend yourself from those standing in your way. You play as either Robert or Sophie. They both work exactly the same. There is no difference between them. They've got the exact same moves and play the exact same way. So it doesn't matter who you're playing as. It might have been nice to give them each different abilities.
Most of the gameplay consists of you solving puzzles throughout the game. These puzzles, surprisingly, are fun and actually require some logical thinking. If you find yourself stumped, it's no surprise. Some of these puzzles really are a challenge, and require you to think. There is also a really good variety of them. Because of this the gameplay keeps from being stale. You'll have to decipher anagrams, solve riddles and much more. The downside, of course, is that these puzzles aren't random. They have the same solution every time. So it's only really worth playing through the game once.
Then there's the combat. It surprisingly works out in this game as well. You'll find yourself clashing with your enemies and then having to press a series of buttons to make successful strikes. It's interesting, but also slow. If you miss a button press (or you're not fast enough), you'll have a harder time getting an attack off. It's not just about offense, it's also about defense. If an enemy comes swinging at you, there will also be a series of buttons to press in order to dodge their attack. Much like fighting, if you miss a button or you're not fast enough, you could take damage. The combat works, but as I said, it's a little slow.
The Da Vinci Code isn't exactly a fantastic looking game. Not only do the characters have little resemblance to their film counterparts, but they look bland and emotionless. The game also has a few graphical bugs. You'll find yourself getting caught up on some of the games objects in your way. It's annoying. The textures don't look great either.
As if that wasn't enough, the sound quality isn't brilliant either. The voice acting is horrible. It's dull and robotic. These characters have no feeling or apparent interest in what they're doing. This is a step down from voice quality in videogames.
It isn't just the graphics and voices that urk this game a little. The storyline is also a little bland. It's great to actually play through the adventure of the book and the movie, but the story moves really slow, despite how short the game itself is. It'll take you anywhere from seven to twelve hours to complete it, depending on how well you perform on the puzzles. The game's moments of story rather than gameplay are rather bland and boring, and because of the bad voice quality, it only keeps the story down even more.
The gameplay satisfies at least. This is what really counts, and I'm glad to say The Da Vinci Code does it well. However, the other things that make a quality game get the short end of the stick. If you didn't get enough of Dan Brown's run away bestseller, you'll probably like this. If you couldn't get enough the movie, you'll probably like this. If, however, you're expecting a high quality game... it isn't in The Da Vinci Code.
The Good
+The gameplay mechanics work
+Interesting puzzles, quite the variety, and they're challenging
+Follows the book and film pretty well
+Not such a bad combat system
The Bad
-The graphics aren't great
-The characters don't really look like the characters in the movie
-Horrible voice acting
-The Story is slow paced
-Combat is slow
-There's really not a whole lot of replay value
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I'm done w/ Xbox!, December 11, 2006
Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a huge fan of the book. I enjoyed the film. But man this game sucks. It had so much potential to be great. I played it and got through maybe 4 or 5 levels and then got stuck on some stupid f-ing bridge, the DaVinci Bridge to be exact. I was there for hours and hours trying to make the dam thing connect with the other side. I exhausted all possibilities over and over again until finally giving up. I hate this! And this isn't the first Xbox game to screw up like this. I'm not asking for much here its just if you spend 40 or 50 bucks on a game you should get a playable game at least. I'm not even saying it has to be a great game or anything just f-ing work! I'm pissed and frustrated. I think I'm done with Xbox.
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