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Uncharted 4 gameplay trailer includes mini family reunion
With all the time Nathan Drake has put into learning more about supposed ancestors, you would think he'd take more time to acknowledge family members that are actually still alive. The above extended gameplay clip of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End fixes one such oversight, filling in an overlooked, brotherly branch of Nathan's family tree after a bout of the standard "climb, shoot, almost die" Uncharted gameplay. Nathan's brother will be played by Troy Baker (Joel in The Last of Us, Pagan Min in Far Cry 4), with the sibling apparently sharing Nathan's unwavering dedication to sniffing out treasure. We'll be able to follow the brothers (and Sully) through the jungle (and figure out who's seeking revenge) when Uncharted 4: A Thief's End arrives on PS4 in 2015. [Image: Naughty Dog]
PlayStation Experience panel topics include God of War, Nathan Drake, PlayStation AMA
The PlayStation Experience will host fans of the PlayStation family next month as they try out recently-released and upcoming games, but about 20 panels are also on the agenda for next month's event in Las Vegas. While an exact schedule hasn't been nailed down, a recent PlayStation Blog post has outlined the topics for each confirmed panel. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, voices and animation sources of The Last of Us' respective Joel and Ellie, will be present for a panel on how voice-over and performance capture are integrated into games. Naughty Dog will host two panels, one featuring a video that looks back on the studio's 30 years of existence, the other following the process of character creation (including Nathan Drake's transition to PS4). Santa Monica Studio will offer up a God of War series retrospective, and Sony President Shuhei Yoshida, VP of Publisher Relations Adam Boyes and Software Product Development Head for Sony Worldwide Studios Scott Rohde will also be present for an "Ask Me Anything"-style presentation. A full list of event descriptions can be parsed through on the PS Blog, with additional panels covering N++, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, the LittleBigPlanet series and what it's like to work in Japan's gaming industry. If any topics interest you or you just like the idea of playing games before they're released, PlayStation Experience is inviting those 18 and over to Las Vegas for the weekend of December 6. [Image: PlayStation Experience]
Discover wraith relationships, as portrayed by Shadow of Mordor
Talion may be the poster child advertising Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, but he's not the only one seeking vengeance against the Dark Lord Sauron and his army of nasty creatures. In this behind-the-scenes video, meet Celebrimbor: an elven smith who helped create the Rings of Power and has since been cursed to exist as a wraith in eternal un-death. Yeesh, no wonder he seems like a bit of a grumpy-pants. Celebrimbor is played by Alastair Duncan, opposite Troy Baker as Talion. The two characters may have the same agenda, but they don't always agree about how to do it. To learn more about their ripe-for-sitcom-adaptation relationship - seriously, we can hear it in our heads already: "Taliooooooon!" *cue laugh track* - check out the new behind-the-scenes video above. [Image: Warner Bros. Interactive]
Watch The Last of Us: One Night Live, but not the unseen epilogue
If you played The Last of Us and thought "hey this would make a really great stage show" then you're kind of weird. But also perhaps a visionary, since a The Last of Us stage show is exactly what Naughty Dog and Sony put on last night in a special one-off performance. It's of course closer to a table read than a grand Broadway spectacle, but if you like seeing voice actors like Troy Baker (Joel) and Ashley Johnson (Ellie) apply themselves to their roles, it's worth a watch. Also, rather than telling the full plot, the show takes select scenes from various parts of Naughty Dog's horror. In short, it doesn't really explain the story but it sure as heck spoils it, so if you've not played the game, go do that first (it's really good!)
Watch The Last of Us' Ellie reminisce about pushing around another Joel
Sony's pumping out the promos ahead of The Last of Us: Remastered's launch this week, but a new interview between actors Troy Baker (Joel) and Ashley Johnson (Ellie) covers some interesting ground. The best bit is when Johnson talks about recording a heated scene with a different actor going up for the Joel part, giving us a glimpse into how motion-capture can get emotional, and quick. The video also touches on the very enjoyable "alternate" ending - if you've not seen that in full, that footage is waiting for you below the break. The Last of Us: Remastered hits PS4 on July 29 in North America and August 1 in Europe.
Gollum debuts in Shadow of Mordor behind the scenes clip
While Red Dead Redemption writer Christian Cantamessa and BioShock Infinite voice actor Troy Baker discuss how Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is both an original tale and faithful to J.R.R. Tolkien's immense canon, a familiar, gangly, wide-eyed figure peers into the camera like a paranoid bushbaby. [Image: WBIE]
The voices of Joel and Ellie to judge The Last of Us fan art competition
Naughty Dog has partnered with t-shirts-and-art-prints online shop We Love Fine for a The Last of Us-inspired fan art competition, and according to a post on the Naughty Dog website, the winner's designs could end up on official The Last of Us merchandise. Artists have until November 11 to submit up to five designs, which will be rated by Last of Us fans. On December 17, the most popular designs will move on to the final round of judging. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who voiced Joel and Ellie, respectively, as well as Creative Director Neil Druckmann and Game Director Bruce Straley will serve as guest judges. The Grand Prize winner will take home up to $2,000, as well as a Post-Pandemic Edition of the game, Season Pass DLC, a Dark Horse artbook, a trade paperback copy of The Last of Us American Dreams, and a signed poster by the dev team. You can check out all the rules for entry, as well as other prizes, on the We Love Fine website.
Troy Baker kills it with Joker monologue from The Killing Joke
Troy Baker, amateur opera singer and voice of the Joker in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins, gave a live demonstration of his vocal talents to New York Comic-Con attendees, and the results are ... well, skip to 2:12 in the above video and see for yourself. The speech Baker reads in the video is from a one-shot Batman comic called "The Killing Joke," written by Alan Moore. In the comic, the monologue begins while Joker tortures Commissioner Gordon by chaining him to a carnival ride and forcing him to view pictures of his daughter Barbara Gordon (who at the time was also Batgirl), naked and paralyzed from a gunshot wound Joker inflicted on her. So yeah, it's kind of dark material. If you watch before Baker gives his performance, you'll also see him describe the audition process. Apparently, Baker didn't even know who he was auditioning for until part-way through. "I remember that, walking into an audition and I think that, actually, it wasn't even Joker, it was a character whose name was just 'Jack,'" Baker said. It wasn't too long before Baker realized what he was reading, as well as the pressure he was under. Baker also sings a little jingle at the end of the video, which we'll recite for you now: "Some say I am good. Some say I am evil, even more so than the Sith. But I suppose you'll all find out on October 25th."
Batman: Arkham Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Troy Baker as Joker
Warner Bros. revealed Batman: Arkham Origins is fronted by two of gaming's most prominent voice actors. Roger Craig Smith is confirmed as the caped crusader, and Troy Baker is his nemesis, the Joker. If you don't recognize the names, you'll definitely recognize their previous work. Craig Smith's immense portfolio includes Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed, Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, and he's the current voice of Sonic. While he's never starred in anything Batman related, he does have superhero experience. It is for the other side, however; he's played Captain America in both games and animations. Baker is similarly prolific. While he recently graced our screens as Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, his past work includes Sgt. Matt Baker in Gearbox's Brothers in Arms, Snow from the Final Fantasy 13 line, Kai Leng from Mass Effect 3, and Vincent from Catherine. When we profiled Baker around this time last year, he shared his love for all things Batman on the back of starring in Arkham City. "Being a part of Arkham City was just incredible - because I'm a huge Batman fan," Baker told us, "And to play Two-Face and Robin after growing up watching The Animated Series was a banner moment for me." The news follows apparent confirmation long-time Batman vocalist Kevin Conroy does star in Origins, but how he features remains to be seen. We know Origins deals with Batman's "initiation into that insane world" of the other Arkham games, so perhaps Conroy's role is something retrospective. Even if Conroy doesn't play the dark knight in any sense in Origins, to fans he's still the goddamn Batman. Bat-click here to check out our preview and the new trailer.
Troy Baker, the industry's 'new' Nolan North
If you've spotted the assassin Kai Leng in Mass Effect 3, roamed the streets of Steelport spitting hot lead and one-liners as the voice of 'Male Caucasian 1' in Saints Row: The Third, or pillaged dungeons with the Scoundrel as your ally in Diablo 3, you're familiar with the industry's newest voice actor all star: Troy Baker.Before his voice was featured in countless big budget video games, Baker's career was focused on music, playing in the indie-rock band Tripp Fontaine. Though Baker says music "came naturally" to him, he knew his life would revolve around some form of entertainment. "I knew from when I left my mother's womb that I was going to be a performer," Baker tells Joystiq.Around 2004, Baker "stumbled" into doing car commercials, which led to a chance encounter that would shift his entire career focus. "Since we were doing album work at the same studio, it was just right place right time. So I started doing commercial work, and met Christopher Sabat who plays Vegeta in Dragonball Z." Soon he was cast in a slew of minor roles throughout the anime and video game world: various iterations of Dragonball Z, bit parts in Lupin III, roles in One Piece, Bloodrayne 2 and Mega Man X: Command Mission. Things started to explode, and did so with a sonic boom when he was cast as the memorable Frank Archer in Fullmetal Alchemist.He was working frequently and with passion, but Baker's next big break came from another happenstance situation: being friends with a Gearbox Software employee.
The Last of Us has been in development for two years
There was quite a lot of buzz surrounding the first new game revealed during the Spike VGAs this weekend, The Last of US. Decidedly void of smarmy characters and international espionage, The Last of Us instead focuses on two survivors trying to make their way across the country after a post-apocalyptic event. And, surprisingly, it's been in development for two years already, Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann revealed on Twitter. Druckmann also revealed the two leads on the game are Troy Baker, the man voicing protagonist Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, and Ashley Johnson, who is in fact not Ellen Page. Yeah, we were kinda surprised, too. The Last of Us also appears to be a Mature title -- the UK page suggests a PEGI rating of 18, the equivalent of a Mature ESRB rating here in The States, a first for Naughty Dog. Also a first at Naughty Dog: the existence of two separate teams. One team is working on The Last of Us, the other is working on other stuff, according to co-president Christophe Balestra. Finally, the UK page suggests "no network play," which could mean the final game is a local-only affair. Of course, that could change in the lead-up to launch in 2012.
Going even deeper into BioShock Infinite's voice acting
Last week we brought you the first half of a two part feature with Irrational Games head Ken Levine coaching BioShock Infinite's two main voice actors. This week, we've got Booker (Troy Baker) yelling at Elizabeth (Courtnee Draper) to elicit emotion-filled lines. Next week? Tigers.
BioShock Infinite's main voice actors explore the creative process
What's it like expressing a total lack of remorse for a dying virtual horse in a fantastical city in the clouds? BioShock Infinite voice actor Troy Baker explains just that in this behind-the-scenes look at the voice actors playing Elizabeth and Booker in next year's big Irrational game.
BioShock: Infinite voice actors caught on film
Eager to put faces to the voices (and digital faces, we guess) behind the lead characters of BioShock: Infinite? Look no further, as MSNBC's In-Game took some time to chat with Courtnee Draper and Troy Baker, who play Elizabeth and Booker Dewitt in Irrational's upcoming followup. Check out the video above for a look at the voice acting process, and just what goes into creating Booker, Elizabeth and the relationship between them.
BioShock Infinite PAX panel video explores the importance of relationships, crying in tiny rooms
PAX can be a fantastic catalyst for news and breaking information about upcoming games, but it also provides a unique window into the development process that we as consumers don't often get a chance to see. This year's BioShock Infinite panel, for instance, dove into the art of voice-acting, the challenges associated with dynamic story telling in a first person environment, and the benefits associated with crying in a 5-by-6 closet while strangers viciously berate you. The panel, hosted by G4's Adam Sessler, starred Irrational Games' Creative Director Ken Levine, as well as voice actors Troy Baker and Courtnee Draper, who voice Infinite's Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth, respectively. The group covered a wide range of topics regarding Infinite's lead characters, their motivations, and the somewhat unorthodox techniques used to extract such emotional performances from the actors. Despite being fairly F-bomb heavy, the above video doesn't disclose any information we weren't already aware of, so the spoiler-cautious among you need not worry.
ArenaNet gives us a sneak peek at the voices of Guild Wars 2
Just when you thought we'd already gotten our excellent holiday treat from ArenaNet in the form of that amazingly gorgeous Guild Wars 2 trailer, they decided to add in a behind-the-scenes video for us to enjoy! This new video titled "Giving Tyria a Voice" offers a look at the people making the characters of Guild Wars 2 come alive. Additionally, we're treated to their thoughts on what their characters are all about -- shedding a bit more light on what we can look forward to in terms of story and atmosphere. When coupled with the art from the recently released races trailer, this is a must-watch video for anyone curious about how the game is progressing.The voice talent tagged for Guild Wars 2 is an amazing lineup of well-known, veteran voice actors. The people we meet in this trailer are Steve Blum, Troy Baker, Kari Wahlgren and geektastic favorite, Felicia Day, one of the stars of The Guild. With a rich pool of talent like this, coupled with award-winning artists and a studio dedicated to creating top-notch content for their fans, Guild Wars 2 is definitely shaping up to be an incredible game. But don't take our word for it -- check out the behind-the-scenes video from ArenaNet we've conveniently included after the break!
