voice acting
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Kristen Bell returns as Lucy in Assassin's Creed 2
Okay, fine -- Assassin's Creed's Lucy, the mousey assistant who helped operate the DNA-reading Animus device, was pretty boring. That blame can't really be placed upon the adorable shoulders of Kristen Bell, who voiced the character. She did the best she could with the ... it's not like she had a ... she's Veronica Mars! We can't speak ill of Veronica Mars! A recent batch of promotional photos have confirmed Bell's involvement in Assassin's Creed 2. She'll perform the role of Lucy again, and she'll perform it flawlessly, like everything else she's ever done in her entire life. Ever. %Gallery-74543%
Breakfast Topic: Your favorite lines of spoken dialogue
While video game voice acting never really seems to draw the amazing big names, it's definitely steadily improving from the old day when it was spare members of the coding team and a couple people pulled off from the street or something. WoW seems to combine the best of both worlds here, in that Warcraft's Voice acting seems to run the gamut from awesome to pretty decent to painfully over-hammy. Still, to its credit, it's produced a whole lot of iconic lines, from the first "zug zug" to "You are not prepared" and beyond. With so many iconic phrases, both breath taking and amusing, I'm interested to know what lines of dialogue stick with you and why. Is it the turn of phrase? The delivery? The context in which the line is spoken that adds to the drama or humor?For me, it's all about Eadric the Pure. Pretty much every line of dialogue he gets in the Trial of the Crusader 5-man is amazing. Well acted, well scripted, with just the right balance between pomposity, noble righteousness and a sort of bemused sense of humor and enjoyment about the whole concept of the Argent Tournament. If I had to pick one line, it would be his final one: "I yield! I submit! Excellent work! May I run away now?"Yes, you may Eadric. But please, come back again soon. You're awesome.
Tim Curry provides voice of 'calculating villain' in Dragon Age: Origins
EA and BioWare have made the obvious -- and quite correct -- choice in casting Tim Curry as Arl Rendon Howe, a man whose insatiable lust for power puts him at odds with the heroes of November's swords-and-sultry-sorcery epic, Dragon Age: Origins. Those keeping count on Curry's "calculating villain" roles will remember his appearance as Premier Cherdenko in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, as well as his forthcoming part as Doviculus in Brütal Legend, slated for release a few weeks before Halloween (when anything can happen).Dragon Age: Origins, which BioWare describes as having the largest cast of characters in any of its games to date, will also feature the vocal talents of Tim Russ, Claudia Black (you'll spot her in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves this October), Steve Valentine, and Kate Mulgrew, who was last seen slurping coffee and balking at the Prime Directive in Star Trek: Voyager.%Gallery-70488%
Heavy Rain features 10 voiced languages, subtitles in 6 more [update]
Heavy Rain will be fully voice acted in 10 languages, with subtitles available for all spoken languages, plus six more languages. These details were disclosed during a presentation at GamesCom this afternoon, when Quantic Dream founder David Cage introduced Pascal Langdale (pictured right), the actor playing the English-speaking version of Heavy Rain's Ethan Mars, and discussed the extensive voice work necessary for the game's many branching scenes. Knowing a single Blu-ray disc can store language data in bulk, we were curious about how many language options would be available in the game. As it turns out, if Cage had brought in all of Mars' voices, the room would have gotten pretty tight. Check out the confirmed list of languages after the break. (We're still waiting for official confirmation on a couple -- the Quantic Dream team couldn't name them all off the top of their heads.) Update: Heavy Rain's associate producer and localization manager, Romain Castillos, has given us the official list of languages and subtitles. %Gallery-70367%
50 Cent to make cameo appearance in Modern Warfare 2
There are many places one can find Mr. 50 Cent: In any number of clubs, as referenced by his chart-topping song; in his numerous self-titled video games, one of which has become a cult classic among the Joystiq staff; and according to entertainment news site ThisIs50, he can be found at Infinity Ward's studios, doing voice work for the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.Robert Bowling confirmed to Kotaku that Fiddy will be supplying "one of many squad voices" featured in the game's multiplayer and Spec Ops modes. Bowling mentioned 50 Cent's lines will be standard shooter fare -- "Reloading," "Tango Down," and the like. We pray he'll also sneak in a reference to his precious jewel-encrusted cranium.
Latest SWTOR video showcases astounding levels of in-game footage
Not only does the third Star Wars: The Old Republic Developer Dispatch video show plenty of in-game voice acting, it shows off the early user interface -- including the one used to make your moral choices in the game. In fact, if we didn't know any better we'd say the game looks like it's coming along faster than anyone had anticipated.Then again, we do know better. Even though the footage you'll see is incredibly smooth (especially the combat) don't be fooled. BioWare has every intention of doing their normal thing, which means the game is done when it's done and with an MMO that can be a very lengthy amount of time. So much time that we highly doubt Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming out anytime before 2011.No need to lament, because at you can check out the video below the break and let the awesome production values wash over you like a wave of editing, game developing and voice acting nirvana.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's voice acting process detailed
We've spoken before about how BioWare's upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, will be the wordiest video game in the history of mankind, but a recent article on the game's official site has given even further detail into the process behind the title's verbosification. If you've ever been interested in voice acting, it's definitely worth a read, as we're fairly certain the game will go down in VO history for its unrivaled ambition.If the process behind the game's voice work does nothing for you, perhaps a few more numeric comparisons will float your boat -- the script, which is the size of "40+ novels" (or 10 KOTOR's!) is being voiced by over 100 voice actors in five cities, who, by the end of the project, will have performed over 1,000 four-hour recording sessions. That is a great deal of talking.[Via Big Download]
Peer into the bowels of SWTOR's voice production
So you've heard that Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to be completely voice acted. All player characters and non-player characters will have a professional voiced track for every bit of dialog. We're certain that you, much like ourselves, have imagined this project to be a huge undertaking. BioWare's pretty sure most of us are underestimating this, and their latest developer diary makes sure we truly understand the depth and range of the project. Like, for instance, did you know that the complete script for Star Wars: The Old Republic is larger than 40+ novels? We bet you also didn't know that, so far, five cities ( Los Angeles, London, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto ) are currently playing host to voice recording sessions. There's plenty more information in the blog itself, so go check it out!
WoW Moviewatch: Jesse Cox Voice Actor Video Demo
Tipster Kerri clued me in to the Jesse Cox Voice Actor Video Demo on YouTube. This is definitely not the sort of movie we'd regularly feature on Moviewatch, of course, but it points out an interesting facet of machinima that we don't usually talk about. Namely, this video shows off the skills of the voice actors.Many times, a video can be visually impressive, but less-than-stellar voice acting can detract from the overall experience. Jesse Cox has worked with Myndflame in several videos, as well as starring in Divided Soul. By watching this demo reel, you can very clearly see how much character and technique he brings to his roles. I think it can't be understated how important it is to a machinima to have actors who can speak their lines fluidly, believably, and without awkward moments.Like I said, the video demo itself is pretty straight-forward. I hope it brings the results to Jesse that he wants. But, I wanted to feature it to help highlight the often unsung hero of machinima: the voice actor. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
Max Payne 3 gets different, older voice actor
We've already seen the new, grizzled face of Max Payne in upcoming sequel Max Payne 3, and found out a few details on the game from Game Informer's preview of the title. More news coming out of July's GI today (via Eurogamer) says that the game's titular character will lose the first two games' voice actor, James McCaffrey, and be replaced by, well, we're not quite sure yet. "We're good at casting," Jeronimo Barrera of the game's developer, Rockstar Games, points out. "All the Max Payne themes will remain intact - manipulation, betrayal, and the stuff that really made Max Payne," art director Rob Nelson backs the decision up with. And so it seems that, while the various themes may stay intact, the main character's look and sound have absolutely changed. Here's hoping Rockstar doesn't change the title to "Minimum Pleasure!"
Dio cut from Brutal Legend, replaced by Tim Curry
The "Holy Diver" himself, Ronnie James Dio of heavy metal band Dio, has reportedly been cut from Brütal Legend's voice actor list. Dio's management confirmed to Blabbermouth the removal of the lead singer's voice from the game, not citing any specific reasons, though it noted that actor Tim Curry will be filling the position.Speculation surrounding the cut points to a longstanding feud between Brütal Legend's "Guardian of Metal" Ozzy Osbourne and Dio, though we're not so sure that their feud would carry over into the Double Fine-developed, EA-published title. To be honest with you though, we're still reeling from the lack of inclusion of any members of Slayer. "Raining Blood" playing while the act itself takes place in game -- these things write themselves, people![Thanks, The Weaponeer] [Image credit]
Star Wars: The Old Republic has hundreds of voice actors
Giant Bomb has been pumping out some great videos from E3 2009, but we of course took immediate notice of this interview with two Star Wars: The Old Republic developers from BioWare. Most of the conversation revolves around information we already know, until one of the devs reveals, "we have literally thousands of roles which are voiced in our game, which are done by many, many hundreds of voice actors." We knew there was going to be a lot of people, but, okay we didn't expect that many!Hundreds.Much of the Massively crew agreed that Star Wars: The Old Republic's classes would be limited to four or five on each side, due to the fully-voiced announcement. Now we're thinking differently with thousands of roles filled by many hundreds of voice actors. Suddenly, six or seven per side doesn't seem like a far away fever dream.If you'd like to see how it ends when you ask a BioWare dev about SWTOR's release date, check out the full video after the break.
Dragon Age: Origins voice-over cast 144-strong
Oh Twitter, is there anything you aren't used for? (On second thought, don't answer that.) We know that you were recently the means by which BioWare asked fans to guess the number of voice actors working on its upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Origins. (Random, we know.) It turns out the correct answer is a mighty-impressive 144.Our response was "one," but only because we knew this guy could do them all.[Via That Videogame Blog]
Watch Carmen Electra and Jay Mohr 'act' in Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
Codemasters, the recent proud owner and publisher of Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, recently posted a couple of hard-hitting interviews with two members of the game's impressive voice cast: Carmen Electra and Jay Mohr. Electra, who voices porn actress-turned mainstream ingenue Ginger Vitus, speaks mostly on the importance of the use of innuendo when discussing boobies. Mohr focuses mohr more on his unconventional usage of sweatsocks. Will you find it particularly hilarious? Maybe. Did we specifically write this post so we could include the words "porn" and "boobies," thereby shamelessly boosting our traffic figures? Hell yes, son.[Via VG247]
StarCraft fans ticked about voice-over changes
This is one of those stories you're either going to really care about or be utterly ambivalent to, so just hang in there with us, OK? Reports indicate that the voice actors who played Jim Raynor and Kerrigan in the original StarCraft are being replaced in the sequel, the news of which was apparently the equivalent of dropping -- is there a really big bomb in StarCraft? If so, it was like dropping that on the SC fan community.As you can see here, every tool in the fanboy arsenal from petitions to YouTube videos are being deployed. Hoping to get in on the fun, we put the question to you, the Joystiq Biomass:%Poll-27264%
MGS4 cast has identity issues, holds group therapy session
How dedicated is the vocal cast of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots? So dedicated that they believe they are the characters to which they breathe sound and life into. Is it some form of hypnotic gene therapy which brings out such wondrous talent? Maybe ... it's the work of the Patriots? *Cue dramatic music* Whatever the reason be, they now meet up regularly to (jokingly) discern between what really is game and reality.Dr. Sadie, records one such session documenting how far our beloved actors have had one too many serums in the neck. Paul Eiding (aka Colonel Campbell) is on a junkie binge for some Scissors 61. While Christopher Randolph (aka Otacon) reveals he's been turning his cat "Mark" into Mark II ... by strapping a camera to its back. David Hayter (Old Snake), Jennifer Hale (Naomi), and Quinton Flynn (Raiden) are all there with their buddies with some hilarious consequences. See it all after the break. Thanks go out to Dr. Sadie for totally breaking doctor-patient confidentiality! [Thanks LAZoftheTamarinds!]
Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Hopper join cast of Deadly Creatures on Wii
In news of the weird getting weirder, THQ has announced that actors Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) and Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet, lots of stuff where he plays a creepy guy) will voice the two lead two human characters in its Wii-exclusive Deadly Creatures."The scorpion and tarantula are like two actors meeting up for a gun fight," Thornton said in a press release. The release makes no mention of whether Mr. Thorton or Mr. Hopper have actually seen the game, but the latter said of it: "Gamers are really going to love Deadly Creatures." We'll love it more if you promise not to huff nitrous and call us "mommy," sir.[Correction: Thornton and Hopper will voice two human antagonists in the game, not the bugs. But they are antagonists.]
Disgaea and Rhapsody: A Voice Acting Adventure
Siliconera spoke with NIS's Jack Niida about the DS versions of Disgaea and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, both of which happen to be out this week. Much of the interview focuses on the voice acting in the two games, which we imagine is somewhat of an important issue for the otaku who comprise the majority of the Nippon Ichi audience. There's more to read, as well, about Rhapsody's battle system and new characters in Disgaea, among other things. Rhapsody will use the original Japanese songs from the PlayStation game, along with new tracks recorded by the original cast. The voice acting outside of songs will be in English. The English musical tracks will not be present due to space concerns. The script is also pulled from the PlayStation release, but the English text has been cleaned up! As for Disgaea, the same seems to be true. Niida told Siliconera that "All the voice acting is there, but unfortunately, we had to compromise on the dual language and English musical songs." %Gallery-17933%
Rumor: The reasons behind Ironside's Splinter Cell split
The Sarcastic Gamer gang has been slipped another round of supposedly "inside" info regarding the rumored nixing of actor Michael Ironside as the voice of Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher. Rather than simply more "he's gone" talk, this time there are actual (rumored) details concerning the (also rumored) split, which comes during what has been a turbulent development process for Splinter Cell: Conviction.According to the latest hubbub, Ironside was given the boot for being generally difficult to work with ... and asking for more compensation than publisher Ubisoft deemed sufficient for his work. Bear in mind that Ubisoft still hasn't commented on the situation, so all of this is just as plausibly deniable as one of agent Fisher's missions.[Via X3F]
Video games give B-list actors a second chance
While some of you might recognize the gap-toothed gentleman pictured above as actor Keith David, from such films as "The Thing" or "Requiem for a Dream", we'd wager that more of you know his voice -- David is arguably the most prolific celebrity-turned-video game voice actor on the planet, picking up roles in Fallout, Saints Row, Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect, and, of course, providing the guttural dialogue for the Arbiter in Halo 2 and Halo 3. Though his on-screen career isn't booming, David has found a comfortable niche in the video game voice acting market.According to a recent Reuters article, he's not the only celebrity to slip through the cracks of big screen Hollywood, only to find solace and celebrity in video games. Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, whose career dried up after his role in the moderately successful sitcom "Living Single", has voiced a number of video game characters -- including everyone's favorite brooding Spartan, Kratos. Michael Ironside of Top Gun and Starship Troopers fame provides the voice of Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher.These kinds of jobs are quickly gaining popularity in Hollywood, says Reuters, as voice work provides a much steadier paycheck than that of on-screen roles. We see it as a win-win situation -- down on their luck actors with distinct voices can find a nice amount of celebrity in the gaming realm, and as a result, we don't have to suffer through another era of wretched, Tenchu-esque voice acting. God bless you, Keith David.
