[diego]

Also, both Arthur in Legacy of Time and Dalboz in Grand Inqisuitor are great as big-mouthed sidekicks.


It goes without saying that almost all LucasArts and Sierra games have outstanding voices, along with games like The Last Express or Discworld series. And speaking of Eric Idle and The Pythons, obviously all "Python games" (with "Quest for the Holy Grail" being my fav) are also perfect in it.

[rayvio]

as far as I'm concerned, Eric Idle IS Rincewind. pity they either couldn't or wouldn't get him for the role in the Colour of Magic TV movie

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by maladroid

Ha! I was about to put him under the Atrocious tab myself! His performance itself wasn't THAT abysmal, but not being able to skip any line of dialogue really made me loathe the guy for not hiring someone else to do the voice work of Nigel. .

"Through the fen... over the hill... under the town... through the eye"
"Nothing ventured..."

Who could not love the memorable way he says those lines? I don't think I'll be forgetting them any time soon.

[Ivynwater]

I'm currently studying voicing over at an acting school and, generally speaking, I find voices in games not so terrible, that would be an exaggeration, but in the majority of the case too flat. One exception is Stephen Russell who gives the voice of Garrett in Thief (4 installment still in preparation with no release date just yet). He's so good that a T4 without him is considered by many fans as no Thief game at all!

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by Ivynwater

One exception is Stephen Russell who gives the voice of Garrett in Thief. He's so good that a T4 without him is considered by many fans as no Thief game at all!

Yeah 'Stephen Russell' is awesome at whatever he does. Did you know he voices
the main character in the New 'Bioshock Infinite' game.
Listen to the voice in the fist minute or two of the trailer -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_DSf...eature=related

[Ivynwater]

Originally Posted by Weare6

Yeah 'Stephen Russell' is awesome at whatever he does. Did you know he voices
the main character in the New 'Bioshock Infinite' game.
Listen to the voice in the fist minute or two of the trailer -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_DSf...eature=related

Oh boy! When he said "I've go to find her" I just wanted to be her!!!!

[Fantasysci5]

I still am the only one who actually likes Nigel's voice...

[noknowncure]

Originally Posted by rayvio

as far as I'm concerned, Eric Idle IS Rincewind. pity they either couldn't or wouldn't get him for the role in the Colour of Magic TV movie

David Jason was the big selling point of that production - despite the fact that he was woefully miscast. Unfortunately, like David Jason, Eric Idle's probably too old for the role now.

Rincewind's younger than people tend to imagine for some reason.

Idle's voice for the Rincewind of the games worked really well.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by noknowncure

Unfortunately, like David Jason, Eric Idle's probably too old for the role now.

Rincewind's younger than people tend to imagine for some reason.

The reason is probably that he was depicted as an old wizard on all the original Discworld book covers:

[maladroid]

Originally Posted by Oscar

"Through the fen... over the hill... under the town... through the eye"
"Nothing ventured..."

Who could not love the memorable way he says those lines? I don't think I'll be forgetting them any time soon.

Seems that Boakes' delivery as Nigel is rather controversial, which is to his credit...I guess. Funny thing is, I DO remember a couple of his lines (like the notorious "Symbolic images? Or ancient graffiti?...") but mostly because they sounded so unreal and detached from the game's mood that they made me chuckle at first, then grit my teeth when I had to listen to them a few dozen times while exploring the caves, due to the lack of a bypass button

Regarding Tim Curry, come to think of it, I have mostly fond memories of his performance in Sins of the Fathers (which was also the superior game for me) whereas in GK 3 he was indeed a bit over the top, although his voice grew on me eventually.

On a side note, I thought of another voice that I found quite irritating recently: Alexandra Boyd that played Elaine Marley on the Special Edition of ME 2. She gives a high-pitched, overly bitchy performance that really got on my nerves and made me dislike her character so much, it became the low point of this otherwise excellent game.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by maladroid

On a side note, I thought of another voice that I found quite irritating recently: Alexandra Boyd that played Elaine Marley on the Special Edition of ME 2. She gives a high-pitched, overly bitchy performance that really got on my nerves and made me dislike her character so much, it became the low point of this otherwise excellent game.

Yeah, I feel the same, I think because she was in Tales and Escape far too much. I enjoy her voice but like LeChuck, Stan and Murray it's really over the top and is suited for games where she is a minor character.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by maladroid

On a side note, I thought of another voice that I found quite irritating recently: Alexandra Boyd that played Elaine Marley on the Special Edition of ME 2. She gives a high-pitched, overly bitchy performance that really got on my nerves and made me dislike her character so much, it became the low point of this otherwise excellent game.

That's interesting. Boyd's Elaine was probably my favorite performance in Tales of Monkey Island. Haven't played the SE, but in ME2 MI2 Elaine's most important scene is already written in a way that makes her rather bitchy. I don't think there's anything wrong with the voiceover making it even more so, but I'm just theorizing.

Oh, I also have been hearing some British players were dissatisfied with Boyd's casting due to having her appear so often on TV there.

[maladroid]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

That's interesting. Boyd's Elaine was probably my favorite performance in Tales of Monkey Island. Haven't played the SE, but in ME2 MI2 Elaine's most important scene is already written in a way that makes her rather bitchy. I don't think there's anything wrong with the voiceover making it even more so, but I'm just theorizing.

Actually, she was just as irritating in Tales for me but then again a lot of stuff bothered me in that game. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think that her performance somehow changed since COMI, and significantly so. I think it has something to do with underlining her British accent or something, but it may be that I just grew tired of listening to her in long dialogues (as Oscar suggested), whereas she used to be more of a secondary character initially, at least as far as "stage time" is concerned.

It is true that she is supposed to come off as bitchy during that particular MI 2 scene but, even so, the delivery kind of managed to stretch things in that direction.


PS: Oh my, apparently I've gotten involved in too many Mass Effect - related discussions as of late, haven't I?

[Bad Asp]

I know I've probably posted this in other topics, but I really like Bill Farmer's performance as Sam and Nick Jameson's Max voice in Sam and Max Hit the Road, and I like them with a passion!

Bill Farmer's Sam voice is a combination of two other impersonations he does... his Humphrey Bogart voice to go with Sam's career as a freelance detective, and his Johnny Carson voice to go with Sam's dry wit... only he can morph them together and make them work!

I know a lot of people here think Nick Jameson's Max voice might sound too old and not match Max's personality at all, but I disagree... the Brooklyn accent makes Max sound really intimidating, like he's a force to be reckoned with, someone you shouldn't underestimate under any circumstances.

I'd LOVE it if LucasArts brought Freelance Police back from the dead, because from what I hear, those two worked like crazy voicing those characters on that game! I do NOT want their hard work to go to waste, believe you me!

[Hoipolloi]

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

I still am the only one who actually likes Nigel's voice...

NO, YOU'RE NOT!
At least he (J. Boakes) enunciates better than he types... ... or subtitles!

Since I'm not a native English speaker (but a great fan of playing games/watching movies in their original languages - good German voice actors that aren't instantly recognizable are rare...), I'm probably more (or less?) sensitive to those queer accents - I love them! If anyone knows of a good UK/US map with graded samples of brogue, nudge me, please!

So, the guy who hides in the gas station in Barrow Hill got stuck in my mind. Another favorite: Tracer Tong from the original Deus Ex had a penchant for literally babbling me to death while I was trying to sneak up on my enemies. The young heroine from Tunguska also gets favorably mentioned, because she did a very fine job of play-acting(?) a snooty-snotty teenager, which probably ended her career (at minimum, she got replaced by a sheep-herdress in Part II). Character actors have a tough time nowadays.

The best-acted games I know of are Zork Nemesis (small wonder, since they're all professionals) and Deus Ex (more for its quantity than quality, strictly speaking). The worst I played and remember in a major game was probably in No-one Lives Forever, where they got hung up on the same 10k sound byte for the enemies in the fight scenes. The most unheard-of voice acting (disabled on purpose and with a vengeance) is the one in Forsaken (unfortunately, I still haven't found a way to turn the music back on under XP). The most disappointing - in terms of sound quality expectations and reality - was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers feat. Tim Curry.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Hoipolloi

NO, YOU'RE NOT!
At least he (J. Boakes) enunciates better than he types... ... or subtitles!

I didn't notice any errors, if that's what you mean...

I usually find that adventure games do the 'frail old woman' voice well. I loved Nanny Noah, there was something so comforting in her wise old voice. I also remember being touched by the old lady in the house in Longest Journey, but on reflection she's not a very good actor.

[Arial Type]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Awful voice acting: Simon the Sorcerer

Hey! Hands off Chris Barrie! He is as wonderful as ever.

I would definitely mention the voices in DeathGate and Blackstone Chronicles, both from Legend. A truly great job and so many lines.

My favourite (voiced) character would probably be Tex Murphy. Now really, Chris Jones managed to come up with one of the most memorable and lovable adventure characters ever. All by himself, wow!

My favourite narrator would probably be Dalboz from Zork: Grand Inquisitor. I enjoyed his witty comments even more than those in Larry and Space Quest games. He never became annoying while making fun out of everything.

Of course, LucasArts always put a lot of effort into voicing, and such games as Grim Fandango, Sam & Max or Full Throttle are all in the first league.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Arial Type

Hey! Hands off Chris Barrie! He is as wonderful as ever.

Not sure which Simon Chris Barrie is. I like one of the Simons, hate the other. Try and guess which one:

Original Simon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmRNxT0wonU
American Simon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPd1HiZT-aI

[rayvio]

Chris Barrie (aka Arnold J "Ace" Rimmer) is the original Simon from the first two (if I remember right) games, and the much better Simon in my opinion

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by rayvio

Chris Barrie (aka Arnold J "Ace" Rimmer) is the original Simon from the first two (if I remember right) games, and the much better Simon in my opinion

Cool I didn't know that.... I love Chris Barrie, he's awesome in
everything he does. (especially as Rimmer, Red Dwarf)