The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 adventure puzzle video game developed by The Collective and published by 2K for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows.

When an object or location which can be examined more closely is found, the game switches to first-person mode, and the player can investigate in more detail.

[7] The game begins with Silas (voiced by Phil LaMarr) sitting in his chamber, tightening a spiked metal cilice around his leg.

At this point, Sophie Neveu (Jennifer Hale), a member of the cryptography department arrives, explaining the cipher is part of the Fibonacci sequence, although the numbers are out of order.

[10] Langdon examines the broken floor at the base of the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice and finds a stone tablet with Job 38:11 inscribed on it; "Hitherto shalt thou come but no further."

They then head to Château Villette, the residence of Sir Leigh Teabing (Greg Ellis), Langdon's friend and one of the world's foremost experts on the Holy Grail.

Looking at da Vinci's The Last Supper, Teabing explains the image of John is actually Mary Magdalene, to whom the historical Jesus was married.

[13] Teabing explains that the chalice that held the blood of Christ, the Holy Grail of legend, was Mary herself, as she was pregnant with Jesus' child.

Langdon and Neveu incapacitate him, and with Teabing and his servant Remy (Andres Aguilar), they head to London, taking the unconscious Silas with them.

Inside the church, Remy and Silas confront Langdon and Neveu, who flee and head to Westminster Abbey, where Teabing is being held.

He tells Langdon and Neveu the Priory was supposed to make public the contents of the cryptex on the eve of the New Millennium, but Saunière decided against it.

Langdon realizes the truth; Neveu survived the accident, and the Priory put out the story she was dead to protect her, as she is a living blood relative of Jesus.

The linear, story-based title intrigued us with its focus on art and culture, but it backed the heady concepts up with smart puzzles, a fun grappling system, and good gameplay.

Despite the rage for everything next-gen these days, The Da Vinci Code, a game that ordinarily would smack of movie-license dog food, instead is a refreshing re-thinking on the rather worn adventure genre.

[22] The first part, The Da Vinci Code: The Quest Begins, was released on April 14, 2006 prior to both the main game and the film.

[28] IGN's Juan Castro gave the all versions a 4.5 out of 10,[1] writing, "it borrows a riveting story of conspiracy and murder, yet gets bogged down by sloppy gameplay.

He was highly critical of the melee combat, and concluded "as a videogame, The Da Vinci Code captures a fraction of the intrigue from the best-selling novel.

He praised the puzzles, but was critical of the combat system, and concluded "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.

"[34][35] Game Revolution's JP Hurh gave the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions a D, citing a "multitude of glitches and unintuitive programming missteps.

Odd tics include the game freezing when you try to use certain weapons, an essential clue being invisible and the inability to go through doors or interact with objects when you are carrying something."

The fighting and sneaking are so inharmoniously overlaid as to render them an irritating chore for those who just want to solve puzzles, yet they're also so poorly done that they're hard to put up with even if you did want them."

He felt the game captured the tone of the novel well, but concluded "The Collective appears to have over-egged the pudding a little, putting far too much needless emphasis on repetitive and increasingly tedious action elements to the detriment of the already unpolished adventuring.

In trying to fulfill the needs of what gamers want as well as Da Vinci Code fans, The Collective has ended up with a game that ultimately proves only half satisfying to either and great to none.

"[31] Most positively, GameSpot's Greg Mueller enjoyed The Da Vinci Code as "a challenging and varied gameplay experience that will satisfy the amateur cryptographer in everyone".

The voice actors sound completely flat and disinterested in the dialogue, the character animations are all jerky and unnatural looking, and there are even a few frustrating bugs that make the game feel unfinished.

BBC News' Jonathan Fildes referred to the PlayStation 2 version as a "frustrating movie tie-in, with endless cutscenes and patchy gameplay.

He argued that "the vast majority of play involves aimlessly wandering around churches, art galleries and stately homes hoping to stumble across an object of interest.

"[3] Charles Herold of The New York Times gave the game an average review and stated, "because I like puzzles, I enjoyed much of Da Vinci despite its flaws.

"[48] Matt Degen of the Detroit Free Press was one of the few critics who was impressed with the game, scoring it 3 out of 4, and stating, "You'll spend plenty of time cracking anagrams and other codes, and they aren't child's play, either.