[AprilLives]

I’ve been waiting for this game for years and if I understand correctly it has yet to come out in English. Does anyone actually have an English version? I hear a lot of reviews both negative and positive in English so I’m wondering if it is actually out there somewhere.

[Stuart]

I have the English version on Steam and the game is very good. The voice acting itself isn't great, very wooden at times, but its passable and not comically bad or anything. A step up from the voice acting in the first anyway.

[Dale Baldwin]

Originally Posted by AprilLives

and if I understand correctly it has yet to come out in English..

Definitely wrong there. I bought my UK copy in 2009.

[AprilLives]

Thanks for your responses! I guess I should have been looking at Amazon.co.uk instead of Amazon.com. But I’m baffled as to why they even need to make another English speaking version that they keep bumping up and now say will be out in April. Confusing! Now I don’t know whether to wait or get the UK version that by the sounds of it isn’t too bad. Did you get it at Amazon.co.uk?

[kate me]

Hmm... Loved the game graphics! I did play it in english, but it wasn't the same voice acting as in Tunguska. Instead, it sounded very bad. Especially Max. Does that mean I brought the UK version?

[Weare6]

I too picked up my english version in 2009 sometime but I am a little confused why they would re-do it. Is it because they thought the voices where really bad?

[Stuart]

No, unless I'm mistaken Secret Files 2 just has a mostly different voice cast to Secret Files 1, so Max and company sound different on purpose. I got it mixed up as I just consulted my personal review, I felt Secret Files 1 had better voice acting than Secret Files 2, but some (including the reviewer at this site) disagree. Max sounds especially wooden.

This is what I wrote about the voice acting.

Unfortunately I have to disagree, the voice acting was even worse than the first. It was incredibly stiff and formal to the extent that words like "I'm" and "You're" weren't used... instead we got uber-formal "I am" and "You are" (not the greatest examples but it really felt like everything was being read from a script). The stiffness even meant there was no chemistry between Nina and Max when they finally met up, it felt like two strangers reading cue cards. Bad voice acting aside, this really was an enjoyable and fairly lengthy game with some nice settings, decent puzzles, and the sense of adventure I love in AGs.

[Weare6]

^ Ahhh cool.
I enjoyed both adventures and they seem to satisfy (for a short while anyways) my unrelenting hunger for AG's.. But yeah the voices where definitely stiff and felt awkward.

[Lee in Limbo]

I've been trying to get through the Wii version, and frankly, I seriously miss the original voice actress for Nina. the new actress has a better, less irritating voice, but her delivery is horrendous. I don't usually crab about these things, but seriously, the new woman's performance is severely off-putting for me. But I think the thing that irritates me more than that is that the first part of the game just feels so pointless and misdirected. It's hard to explain, but I've been stuck in the same segment of the boat sequence for months, simply because I can't be arsed to figure out what it is I'm overlooking. I feel bad about that, because when all is said and done, I really quite liked Tunguska.

Ah well, some day I'll finish it, I'm sure of it. But I seriously wouldn't cry if they rerecorded the English voice work with better direction.

[Sar]

Originally Posted by AprilLives

I’ve been waiting for this game for years and if I understand correctly it has yet to come out in English. Does anyone actually have an English version? I hear a lot of reviews both negative and positive in English so I’m wondering if it is actually out there somewhere.

J&R in NYC has it offered for pre order. This link should take you directly to the page. If not search their site it is on there for $19.95

http://www.jr.com/south-peak/pe/SOP_00213/

I bought the European English version from Dave at Interact at least two years ago great game. I do not see it offered by Dave yet. I have bought games from J&R before they are really good to deal with.

I don't know what all the griping about voice acting is about. Nina's voice was improved over the first and the rest were no worse than the average game. In fact equal to or better than most.

[Fixonic]

Originally Posted by kate me

Hmm... Loved the game graphics! I did play it in english, but it wasn't the same voice acting as in Tunguska. Instead, it sounded very bad. Especially Max. Does that mean I brought the UK version?

No, they're just different voice actors. I missed the original ones.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I've been trying to get through the Wii version, and frankly, I seriously miss the original voice actress for Nina. the new actress has a better, less irritating voice, but her delivery is horrendous. I don't usually crab about these things, but seriously, the new woman's performance is severely off-putting for me.

Wow, I never believed I would see this opinion anywhere! It just shows voices are all about taste.

I don't want to be too harsh but the original Secret Files had absolutely horrendous voice acting. Almost every line was delivered wrong and extremely flat, with emphasis placed on the wrong words. I honestly think there were only 3 people doing the voices for the entire cast, the only decent one being the older man. The actress playing Nina in Secret Files 2, while perhaps not suiting the character of Nina very well, is brilliant in comparison. They clearly got professionals this time instead of amateur voice actors.

[AprilLives]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I've been trying to get through the Wii version, and frankly, I seriously miss the original voice actress for Nina. the new actress has a better, less irritating voice, but her delivery is horrendous. I don't usually crab about these things, but seriously, the new woman's performance is severely off-putting for me. But I think the thing that irritates me more than that is that the first part of the game just feels so pointless and misdirected. It's hard to explain, but I've been stuck in the same segment of the boat sequence for months, simply because I can't be arsed to figure out what it is I'm overlooking. I feel bad about that, because when all is said and done, I really quite liked Tunguska.

Ah well, some day I'll finish it, I'm sure of it. But I seriously wouldn't cry if they rerecorded the English voice work with better direction.

Now the expected release date of the US English version is in June If nothing else, an adventure gamer is patient. Many of us are still waiting for Longest Journey 3, after all. I tend to agree with Lee that the original voice for Secret Files was fine. The acting was good IMO but at first the voice itself didn’t seem to fit the part … a little too young sounding or something. But I did get used to it eventually and got a little fond of its distinctiveness. Actually, the adventure game genre is so slim these days that all one can do is wait.

[Lee in Limbo]

Originally Posted by Oscar

I don't want to be too harsh but the original Secret Files had absolutely horrendous voice acting. Almost every line was delivered wrong and extremely flat, with emphasis placed on the wrong words. I honestly think there were only 3 people doing the voices for the entire cast, the only decent one being the older man. The actress playing Nina in Secret Files 2, while perhaps not suiting the character of Nina very well, is brilliant in comparison. They clearly got professionals this time instead of amateur voice actors.

I think the performances of the original voice cast were pretty good considering they clearly didn't have a great voice director. However, the new Nina (at least in the English Wii version) sounded like a news anchorwoman reading unfamiliar names/news off of a cue card. Stiff and hard to empathise with. As hard as it was to learn to appreciate the teenaged-sounding Nina, adult Nina is no improvement. Y.M.M.V.

[Weare6]

Well I wasn't particularly fond of either. But as you play you soon forget its awfulness
and just play the adventure for what it is. Like 'AprilLives' mentioned a good Adventure these days are so far and few between that it would have to be a lot more than just bad voice acting to make me not play a good Adventure game.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Lee in Limbo

I think the performances of the original voice cast were pretty good considering they clearly didn't have a great voice director. However, the new Nina (at least in the English Wii version) sounded like a news anchorwoman reading unfamiliar names/news off of a cue card. Stiff and hard to empathise with. As hard as it was to learn to appreciate the teenaged-sounding Nina, adult Nina is no improvement. Y.M.M.V.

Yes, I agree. I wish we could somehow combine the personality of teenage Nina with the acting skill of adult Nina. Maybe on SF3? *crosses fingers*