adam-baldwin
Latest
The Soapbox: MMOs waste millions on voice-over
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. A-list voice actors are not new to the video game genre. Over the last 20 years, video games have pulled from the same pool of talent as cartoons and commercials. But it really wasn't until last year with DC Universe Online that we started to see MMOs advertise the voice talent they had in the games. DCUO filmed multiple documentary-style videos to impress us with the level of voice-over work the game had. Although DCUO was the first fully voiced MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic made a point to tell us that it had over 200 different voice actors (300 if you believe IMDB) with over a thousand recording sessions for over 200,000 lines of dialogue. In the end, what's the pay-off? Six months after launch, the majority of players will threaten to leave a SWTOR pick-up group if the other players don't skip over the dialogue. Although a large portion of players did watch all the dialogue shortly after the game launched, all the players I spoke to said that the cutscenes started to grate on them before they'd even reached level 50. And even though DCUO was the first MMO to be fully voiced, SWTOR got away with advertising that it was first mainly because voice-overs were considered so insignificant by the MMO community that almost no one noticed the fib. And dare we even talk about the expense of recording 200,000 lines of dialogue? Is fan excitement over, say, Mark Hamill's Joker worth the cost of bringing him in on the project in the first place?
DC Universe Online brings fans into the recording studio with Mark Hamill, Adam Baldwin, and Arleen Sorkin
DC Universe Online's upcoming DLC pack, The Last Laugh, will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, June 19th. As you may have surmised from the DLC pack's title (which it shares with a renowned comic story arc), the new content will heavily feature everyone's favorite Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. And of course, when it comes to voicing the Joker, we know there's only one man for the job: the legendary Mark Hamill. In a new video released by Sony Online Entertainment, Hamill brings fans into the recording studio as he lays down his lines for the maniacal Mistah J. Joining Hamill are the voices of Superman (Adam Baldwin), and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin). Together the trio talks about the joys of voicing three of DC Comics' iconic characters and their work on the upcoming Last Laugh DLC. To see these talented voice actors bringing your favorite DCUO characters to life, just click on past the cut for the full video. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
Mark Hamill returns as The Joker in DC Universe Online expansion
In addition to the player-versus-player goodies the latest DC Universe Online downloadable content pack provides, Mark Hamill will be returning to voice The Joker, and he won't be alone."The Last Laugh" DLC pack also features Arleen Sorkin, who returns as Harley Quinn, a role she played in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Adam Baldwin joins the two as Superman, his first video game voiceover role since, well, DC Universe Online. The content is free for Legendary subscribers and can be purchased by free and Premium users via PSN and the game's website.
DCUO's Last Laugh features Hamill as the Joker, lots of new content
Sony Online Entertainment is bringing out the big guns for its next DC Universe Online content patch. As we reported last week, the Joker is set to return for The Last Laugh, and fortunately for everyone, his voiceover duties will be handled by none other than Mark Hamill. Hamill is joined by DC stalwart Arleen Sorkin (that's Harley Quinn to you, mistah), and Adam Baldwin returns to the role of Superman for the first time since DCUO's launch. The Last Laugh also features a new shield weapon, four new safe house battles, and 8v8 throw-downs in both the Watchtower and the Hall of Doom. The Last Laugh will be freely available to legendary DCUO members, while free and premium players can purchase it via the in-game marketplace, the official website, or the PlayStation Network. [Source: SOE press release]
SOE shows off DC Universe Online newbie video
For those of you who haven't run through DC Universe Online's tutorial instance 36,000 times by now, SOE has posted a new video to its Facebook page previewing a bit of the goings on aboard Brainiac's prison/invasion/newbie ship. The one-minute clip is full of furious fists, physics-based combat and flying containers -- and in a bit of a spoiler -- the Man of Steel himself shows up to lend newbs a helping hand. Curiously, Superman's video voiceover isn't performed by Adam Baldwin, but other than that, the footage is exactly what you'll experience after you've fired up DCUO's character creator and taken your first steps into a larger world. Check it out after the cut and visit the game's official website for more details.
Massively takes on the heroes of DC Universe Online
Holy non-disclosure agreement, Batman! Yes, Robin, you are right. We can now talk about DC Universe Online. Sony Online Entertainment, Warner Bros., and (of course) DC Comics have collaborated to make one of the first physics-based action MMORPGs. Now with the NDA lifted, we can finally give our impressions of this ground-breaking online game. A few of Massively's staff members have beta-tested DCUO for about a month now. We have been biting our tongues for just about as long as we could. We have seen the highs and lows of this game. Making an MMO with proven mechanics is hard enough, but when a developer delves into unexplored territory, there are always huge risks. As with any game in still in production, not everything will be perfect. I will keep this in mind as we step into this DC Universe. Prepare to be amazed by the exhilarating graphics, excited by the high-octane mechanics, confounded by surprising glitches, and flabbergasted by the astonishing voice work. Step past the cut for the whole story and the screenshots I took as I was playing through the first six levels of DC Universe Online! %Gallery-109487%
DC Universe Online promises "all-star voice cast"
Just a few days after the preorder bonuses were released and beta signups began for DC Universe Online, Sony Online Entertainment unveiled the central lineup of voice actors for the game. Some of the names are familiar and unsurprising, but still nice to have confirmed. Mark Hamill will be voicing The Joker once again, and Kevin Conroy returns as Batman. SOE highlighted the two returning actors with a short video on the DCUO site entitled "The Voices of the Game." Fans of Joss Whedon's work were interested to see several familiar names in the list: Gina Torres as Wonder Woman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, and Adam Baldwin as the voice of Superman. Michelle Forbes rounds out the cast list list as the voice of Circe. John Blakely, SOE's Vice President of Development, says "We're excited that not only will Mark and Kevin bring their talent back to the DC Universe as part of DC Universe Online, but we've hit the jackpot with a full cast that are veterans of movies, TV shows and games that our fans are crazy about."
Tricia Helfer, Martin Sheen talk up their voice roles in Mass Effect 2
Okay, you've probably heard by now that Mass Effect 2 has a lot of big-name voice talent. But have you SEEN them? This video trailer for BioWare's upcoming space opera features the all-star cast talking about their roles, and what it is about sci-fi (and not SyFy) that gets them so excited.
Mass Effect 2 cast bolstered by Battlestar, Star Trek actors
Mass Effect 2 is bound to have some recognizable actors, what with 90 actors voicing 546 characters with 31,000 lines of dialogue. EA revealed today that the cast includes ... oh, by Grabthar's hammer, here's the list: Martin Sheen (Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez's dad) -- Illusive Man commanding Cerberus Shohreh Adhdashloo (sexy voice lady from FlashForward) -- Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay Seth Green (hand in your geek card if you don't know) -- Joker Yvonne Strahovski (wiener lady, lust of Chuck) -- Miranda Lawson Adam Baldwin (a man named Jayne... or the man they call Jayne) -- Kal 'Reegar David Keith Keith David (Halo's Arbiter) -- Admiral David Anderson Michael Dorn (Star Trek TNG's Worf) -- Gatatog Uvenk Tricia Helfer (2020 Oscar winner after people stop treating her like meat) -- EDI, voice of the "new Normandy" Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh) -- Captain Bailey Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity from The Matrix, singular, no sequels exist -- especially not Revolutions) -- Aria T'Loak We also can't forget Jennifer Hale, who is reprising her role as the real Commander Shepard, nor Mark Meer, the male Shepard and known expert at cutting the council off at weird times.
