Terrible Voice Acting

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I really dislike the voice acting of Mass Effect's female Shepard. She almost sounds male.

I've actually heard this complaint a lot and I didn't understand it at first, until I noticed something.

How old are you? Under 20, I'm guessing. It's a trend that I get a little annoyed with. It seems like anyone under twenty wants all females in video games to sound like they're in their teens. Women's voices change a lot in their twenties. Take a 16 year old girl and a 26 year old and you'd probably be able to tell which is which just by their voice. Shepard isn't in her(his) teens. (S)he a fairly high ranked officer. (S)he's at least 25.

You can't have a Hot nubile Shepard.

It annoys me that people can stomach Meer's voice-acting (or lack thereof) but whine because Hale sounds like a woman and not a little girl.

I'm 20 this month. But being under 20 has nothing to do with it I wouldn't like her to sound like she's in her teens that's just silly I would have just liked her to sound more feminine than she does. Just because the character is maybe in her mid 20's doesn't mean she has to almost sound male. Jennifer Hale also plays Naomi in Metal Gear Solid 4 a character who I assume is also about mid 20's she doesn't have a husky voice in that she sounds like a woman. Also other women in the military in Mass Effect don't have deep voices they sound feminine as well.

 

[JeanLuc761]

I really dislike the voice acting of Mass Effect's female Shepard. She almost sounds male.

I've actually heard this complaint a lot and I didn't understand it at first, until I noticed something.

How old are you? Under 20, I'm guessing. It's a trend that I get a little annoyed with. It seems like anyone under twenty wants all females in video games to sound like they're in their teens. Women's voices change a lot in their twenties. Take a 16 year old girl and a 26 year old and you'd probably be able to tell which is which just by their voice. Shepard isn't in her(his) teens. (S)he a fairly high ranked officer. (S)he's at least 25.

You can't have a Hot nubile Shepard.

It annoys me that people can stomach Meer's voice-acting (or lack thereof) but whine because Hale sounds like a woman and not a little girl.

I think you're being more than a little unfair here. Yes, her voice in Mass Effect doesn't fit the general "I'm young and you know it" vibe that so many games seem to carry, but I'd argue that she doesn't quite sound like a "woman" either (at least, not your average woman).

I also have difficulty enjoying Jennifer Hale's voice acting, specifically because the gruff, almost raspy tone to her voice makes it sound like she's trying too hard to sound tough. I prefer Mark Meer's voice because, while he may fall flat in a few areas, his voice sounds natural.

It definitely comes down to opinion, and I can understand why some are put off by Hale or Meer. What I don't understand is the absurd fanboyism displayed such as "OMG MARK MEER IS TERRIBLE HOW CAN YOU LISTEN TO HIM HALE IS AWESOME." That shit drives me up a wall because he's honestly not that bad.