We always hear (rightfully so) about the really, really, really bad voice acting that affects some video games, but there are a few exceptions out there.
And I don't mean competent voice acting...I mean voice acting that is uncommonly powerful, or otherwise remarkable. Acting that isn't just "good for a video game," but worthy of merit and distinction on its own.
I'm curious what forum-goers here consider great voice acting in video games. (Remember, not "good" or "decent," but legitimately great.) And, hey, if you really don't believe there is any, then feel free to say that, too.
Three examples from me:
- Robert Culp as Dr. Breen in Half-Life 2: without any question my go-to example of great voice acting in a video game. Breen is a fascinating character, and would remain so even if you never heard him speak, but good gravy does Culp bring him to life in a remarkable way. He really does manage to sell the tricky balance between Breen's public face, and his internal trepidation over what he's gotten humanity into. His increasingly panicky messages to you in the Citadel are great, too...he may never attempt anything other than intimidation, but Culp did a great job bringing so many different types of intimidation to life...especially the really frantic ones.
- Rene Auberjonois as Mr. House in Fallout: New Vegas: The Fallout games aren't really known for their great acting, but the unnerving, bizarre charm of Mr. House really would steal the show in almost any game. Auberjonois essentially gives a voice to a static image--he can't rely on a physical character to sell his performance. Perhaps that's why it's so effective, I don't know. But it says a lot that this smarmy green face can seduce you away from what you think is right and set you on an entirely separate path through the game, serving his interests above everybody else, and your own. What's more: he makes you like it. That's some masterful oppression right there.
- Neil Ross as the Narrator in Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist: I first played Freddy Pharkas in its earlier, non-CD-enhanced version, meaning the characters had no voices. I also played it at least 10 times through before I ever did get a copy of the talkie version, and, since I enjoyed it so much, I spent all the time I could discovering every single humorous message in the game. It was a lot of clicking, but it was a lot of fun, and, to this day, I still haven't found a funnier game. (Or anything that even compares, really.) So the voice actors really were fighting a losing battle with me when at last I heard them. Some of them fit my expectations, some of them didn't, but none of them were more enjoyable than just reading the text at my own pace, in my own way. Except for Neil Ross, who, as the narrator, should have had the most difficult job of them all. Yet, somehow, he gave those silly messages a comic emphasis that a lesser actor would have tried to oversell. It was the kind of performance that served the comedy well...and, what's more, it was pretty easy to feel like he found the jokes just as funny as you did. You never heard the narrator laugh, but it'd be darned difficult to hear him without imagining a big smile.
Ahem. So...what are yours?
