The Best and Worst of Video Game Voice Acting
- Thread starter Sixcess
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Best: Mass Effect, Halo ODST (due to Firefly), and Uncharted
Worst: Civ Rev (the sounds the advisors make makes me want to destroy EVERYTHING), Just Cause 2, and Resident Evil. Half-Life 2 would be on there due to the fact that it seems odd to have everyone talking to Gordon like he's responding, but it was good other then that, so it's not that bad.
Worst: Civ Rev (the sounds the advisors make makes me want to destroy EVERYTHING), Just Cause 2, and Resident Evil. Half-Life 2 would be on there due to the fact that it seems odd to have everyone talking to Gordon like he's responding, but it was good other then that, so it's not that bad.
Best: Mass Effect/Dragon Age series, GTA series, Metal Gear Solid 4. Seriously, any games that can be considered 'great' nowadays usually have good voice acting.
Worst: Resident Evil series, c'mon guys, we're in the 2000's.
Just Cause, Bolo Santosi.
Metroid: Other M, oh oh, C'MON LADY, ARE YOU DONE!? DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS DRIVEL ALL DAY!?
Hardly the point of the game, but SvR 2011, I don't really think it was voice acting was necessary,
most parts were just painful.
Worst: Resident Evil series, c'mon guys, we're in the 2000's.
Just Cause, Bolo Santosi.
Metroid: Other M, oh oh, C'MON LADY, ARE YOU DONE!? DO I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS DRIVEL ALL DAY!?
Hardly the point of the game, but SvR 2011, I don't really think it was voice acting was necessary,
most parts were just painful.
Best:
Mass Effect
Heavy Rain (Despite some of the guys there not knowing how to pronounce "origami")
Bioshock
Portal
Enslaved
Kingdom Hearts series
Uncharted series (Say what you will about the writing, but you have to admit that they get quality actors & Nolan North is a convincing voice actor)
Ratchet & Clank
Grand Theft Auto series
Alan Wake (Minus the facial expressions)
Worst:
Metroid: Other M
Every Sonic voice ever
Just Cause 2
Resident Evil games
Gears of War series (Okay, it isn't really bad, but it's hard to sound convincing when you're just making your voice the absolute vocal equivalent of gravel)
Mass Effect
Heavy Rain (Despite some of the guys there not knowing how to pronounce "origami")
Bioshock
Portal
Enslaved
Kingdom Hearts series
Uncharted series (Say what you will about the writing, but you have to admit that they get quality actors & Nolan North is a convincing voice actor)
Ratchet & Clank
Grand Theft Auto series
Alan Wake (Minus the facial expressions)
Worst:
Metroid: Other M
Every Sonic voice ever
Just Cause 2
Resident Evil games
Gears of War series (Okay, it isn't really bad, but it's hard to sound convincing when you're just making your voice the absolute vocal equivalent of gravel)
Best: Heavy Rain, Uncharted, other obvious answers. Probably Left 4 Dead.
Worst: "I'm so hungry, I could eat an Octorok".
Worst: "I'm so hungry, I could eat an Octorok".
Chronicles of Riddick had pretty excellent voice acting, thanks in no small part to Vin himself. Also, Team Fortress 2--the lines do a beautiful job of perfectly characterizing the person who speaks them.
The conversations between NPCs in Half-Life 2 seemed very natural and were frequently hilarious, especially in Episode 2, when Adam Baldwin played both Sheckley and AR3 Guy. My god, those dialogues were amazing. I really wish Gordon said something every now and again though. It doesn't have to be much, just a confirmation or expression of emotion every now and then. They talk about how making the protagonist talk would break immersion, but the one-sided conversations the NPCs have with you do a far better job of that.
The worst? Hmm, let's see. I suppose it would be unfair to say Mount and Blade, where literally the only lines of dialogue are "Fine day, milohd!" "Less talking, moah raiding!" and "I VILL DRINK FROM YAH SKHULL!" because the developers didn't have the resources to voice-act everything. And the game doesn't really suffer for it.
In that case, I'll go with Just Cause 2. Granted, I believe some of it is intentional, as the game is something of a homage to 80s action B-movies, but it goes so overboard at times that it goes beyond charming and into obnoxious territory. Every time Tom Sheldon opened his mouth, I just wanted to punch myself in the head. "THANKS FER FLYIN AIR SHEEELDON! Hee hee HEH!"
The conversations between NPCs in Half-Life 2 seemed very natural and were frequently hilarious, especially in Episode 2, when Adam Baldwin played both Sheckley and AR3 Guy. My god, those dialogues were amazing. I really wish Gordon said something every now and again though. It doesn't have to be much, just a confirmation or expression of emotion every now and then. They talk about how making the protagonist talk would break immersion, but the one-sided conversations the NPCs have with you do a far better job of that.
The worst? Hmm, let's see. I suppose it would be unfair to say Mount and Blade, where literally the only lines of dialogue are "Fine day, milohd!" "Less talking, moah raiding!" and "I VILL DRINK FROM YAH SKHULL!" because the developers didn't have the resources to voice-act everything. And the game doesn't really suffer for it.
In that case, I'll go with Just Cause 2. Granted, I believe some of it is intentional, as the game is something of a homage to 80s action B-movies, but it goes so overboard at times that it goes beyond charming and into obnoxious territory. Every time Tom Sheldon opened his mouth, I just wanted to punch myself in the head. "THANKS FER FLYIN AIR SHEEELDON! Hee hee HEH!"
I have many voice acting bug-bears:
1) Some recent american actors trying to do a russian accent. They just cannot do it, and you end up with "Yo, I am so todally from rrrussiya, duuuude". Its like they remember they are meant to be russian every 6th word. STALKER Call of Pripyat does it with Nitro, and there are two or three characters in Metro 2033 that are appalling. The little kid that voices ALL of the boys in Metro is the worst, utterly laughable. "Geee mooommmy, can I have some (russian) peeeeenut butterrrrrrr?". He sounds like someone attempting maybe a welsh or northern english accent who has never heard either and just sounds like an american child with a marble in his mouth. He's also more wooden than pinocchio's ****.
2) The voice acting in Arma II. It literally sounds like a live recording of the developers making suggestions for what the NPC's might say in the game.
3) Prey. Completely overacted and dramatic.
4) That guy in Far Cry 2 who blithers on about how he's "been watching you and go on make your move" etc
Ones I liked:
1) The real russian actors in stalker and metro. I love listening to that accent, always adds another dimension. I especially like the guy that voices the C-Consciousness, and I think he's the same guy who does the voice of the General in the Clear Sky encampment at the beginning of the game.
2) Fallout 3. I dont know why people are slating it - Liam Neeson? And the guy who voiced President Eden? All awesome. Ok some incidental NPC's sound a little bit mellow but that adds to the atmos for me. Also loved the zombie voices.
3) The G-man. Always creeps me out
4) Agree with above, Bioshock's lead characters are great.
1) Some recent american actors trying to do a russian accent. They just cannot do it, and you end up with "Yo, I am so todally from rrrussiya, duuuude". Its like they remember they are meant to be russian every 6th word. STALKER Call of Pripyat does it with Nitro, and there are two or three characters in Metro 2033 that are appalling. The little kid that voices ALL of the boys in Metro is the worst, utterly laughable. "Geee mooommmy, can I have some (russian) peeeeenut butterrrrrrr?". He sounds like someone attempting maybe a welsh or northern english accent who has never heard either and just sounds like an american child with a marble in his mouth. He's also more wooden than pinocchio's ****.
2) The voice acting in Arma II. It literally sounds like a live recording of the developers making suggestions for what the NPC's might say in the game.
3) Prey. Completely overacted and dramatic.
4) That guy in Far Cry 2 who blithers on about how he's "been watching you and go on make your move" etc
Ones I liked:
1) The real russian actors in stalker and metro. I love listening to that accent, always adds another dimension. I especially like the guy that voices the C-Consciousness, and I think he's the same guy who does the voice of the General in the Clear Sky encampment at the beginning of the game.
2) Fallout 3. I dont know why people are slating it - Liam Neeson? And the guy who voiced President Eden? All awesome. Ok some incidental NPC's sound a little bit mellow but that adds to the atmos for me. Also loved the zombie voices.
3) The G-man. Always creeps me out
4) Agree with above, Bioshock's lead characters are great.
Femshep has a voice that could put me in bed no matter what she said.
As far as worst, there were a hell of a lot of bad ones in Red Ninja...
As far as worst, there were a hell of a lot of bad ones in Red Ninja...
I can't really pick a best, because there's quite a lot of voices which are perfect for the job and therefore I don't really pick them out (because there's nothing wrong with it).Similar to when I was doing more sound engineering - if people complained about the sound then it was terrible, but if they just said what a good show, or their favourite songs and not a word about how it sounded, then you did a pretty excellent job.
But as for the worst it has to be the UK voice for Vanille in FF13. Oh. My. God. It was fine at the start, and okay a few hours in, but after a while it makes me want to get a cheese grater and grate my face off.
Don't care if she's cute, its terrible. I don't care if it was because they wanted the same accent as Fang to show some form of regional dialect, they didn't screw it up with her. Hers sounds awesome.
But as for the worst it has to be the UK voice for Vanille in FF13. Oh. My. God. It was fine at the start, and okay a few hours in, but after a while it makes me want to get a cheese grater and grate my face off.
Don't care if she's cute, its terrible. I don't care if it was because they wanted the same accent as Fang to show some form of regional dialect, they didn't screw it up with her. Hers sounds awesome.
Best:
Uncharted series: Drake always says what's on my mind.
Resistance 2: Pulled off the "tough soldier" archetype without resorting to gravelly voices.
God of War series: Linda Hunt is an EPIC narrator/Gaia (why they replaced her in GOW3 is beyond me), T.C. Clarkson is perfect for Kratos, Athena's GOW2 actress (another one they replaced in 3), Rip Torn as Hephaestus, and don't even get me started on Michael Clarke Duncan as Atlas.
Worst:
X-Blades: The protagonist is a thong-wearing Lara Croft wannabe with a Laguna Beach accent. (You know the type. The ones who say "like" after every other word!)
Gears of War: I liked the game, but that's not enough to distract from the fact that these guys are cardboard cutouts. Especially that football player guy.
Uncharted series: Drake always says what's on my mind.
Resistance 2: Pulled off the "tough soldier" archetype without resorting to gravelly voices.
God of War series: Linda Hunt is an EPIC narrator/Gaia (why they replaced her in GOW3 is beyond me), T.C. Clarkson is perfect for Kratos, Athena's GOW2 actress (another one they replaced in 3), Rip Torn as Hephaestus, and don't even get me started on Michael Clarke Duncan as Atlas.
Worst:
X-Blades: The protagonist is a thong-wearing Lara Croft wannabe with a Laguna Beach accent. (You know the type. The ones who say "like" after every other word!)
Gears of War: I liked the game, but that's not enough to distract from the fact that these guys are cardboard cutouts. Especially that football player guy.
How can I beat this? This is the worst ever, collected for your convenience! I laughed so hard at the number 2, I nearly wet myself.1nfinite_Cros5 said:
Best is probably BioShock or God of War:
She is awesome, I love her in NCIS:LA too. I laughed so hard when I found out she (4'9"/1.45 m)is Gaiashadyh8er said:
Hehe, yeah. I actually saw her in the Special Features thing on Disk 2 of GOW2, but I didn't know how short she was until NCIS: LA.De Ronneman said:Best is probably BioShock or God of War:
She is awesome, I love her in NCIS:LA too. I laughed so hard when I found out she (4'9"/1.45 m)is Gaiashadyh8er said:
Best- Demon's Souls, Killzone series, Uncharted series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Batman: Arkham Asylum
Worst- Most JRPG's (original & dubbed alike), all of the Final Fantasy's.
Special mention to the Operation Flashpoint games. It's not the voice acting, it's more everyone sounding like a phone answering machine: "ENEMY AT-two-O'CLOCK!" "ENEMY-rifleman-HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!"
Ugh...
Worst- Most JRPG's (original & dubbed alike), all of the Final Fantasy's.
Special mention to the Operation Flashpoint games. It's not the voice acting, it's more everyone sounding like a phone answering machine: "ENEMY AT-two-O'CLOCK!" "ENEMY-rifleman-HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!"
Ugh...