2K Games released the first round of screenshots for the upcoming book/movie-based video game The Da Vinci Code. You can find them at the bottom of this article.
Following the path of an ancient mystery, The Da Vinci Code novel has been hailed as an entirely unique title, combining storytelling and historical references to unravel a conspiracy that reaches the very foundation of Western theology.
Considering how complex the structure of the story is, The Da Vinci Code might be perfectly structured to play into the strengths of video games as an art medium. Where the book carefully lays out the supporting evidence for the theory over the course of its pages, the movie will have to accomplish the same task in a matter of hours. Not so for a video game.
Visually, movies currently show emotion better than any other medium, but cut details from the story by necessity. It will be interesting to see how Ron Howard manages to convey both the intensity and the depth of mystery that\'s present in the book.
Video games, however, have the unique ability to combine both visual elements and in-depth storytelling without such exacting length limitations. Placing the player in the role of Robert Langdon and letting them explore the story of The Da Vinci Code over a 40-hour game would allow for both the wonder of visual artistry and the complete delivery of facts that make the book such a wonderful experience.
The Special Illustrated Edition of the book displays photographs of paintings and locations referenced by the author. The visual elements of a video game make it more capable of bringing home the realities behind the story.
It\'s a concern that the game is being released, much like King Kong, as a game \"based on the movie\" over the original material.
If you look at the movie as a filter, details and elements of the plot will certainly disappear from the story that could have easily fit into the video game. King Kong, while being an excellent game, suffered from having a 3-hour plot stretched over 12 hours of gameplay; the environments became repetitive.
Let\'s hope that the creators of The Da Vinci Code are being allowed to explore the story and mystery presented by the book in far greater detail than the movie. Otherwise it\'s one art form being crippled by another, and that would be too bad.
In the mean time, check out the screenshots. It promises to be a unique title, and certainly one to watch for.