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| Put some names to those digital faces |
While many games rely on the silent protagonist, others prefer to let their stars take center stage, driving the story with their dialogue and giving players a character they can really connect with.
As such, voice actors have become a big commodity in this modern day of gaming, leading us to pick five of our all time favorites.
A good voice actor can make or break a game. Some are known for single, defining roles, others lend their voice to a multitude of characters, and still others are better known for their trademark pipes rather than the specific characters they help to create. Our top five picks cover all of these categories. Be sure to let us know who some of your own favorites are in the comments section.
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We might as well just get this one out of the way. Ever since Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune first started turning heads, Nolan North has been the go-to guy for any title requiring a humorous, likeable everyman in a leading role. His performance in the Uncharted series is one of the most memorable aspects of the games, making North quite possibly the biggest name in the world of video game voice acting. This guy has done about a bazillion roles, including Deadpool in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Jason Fleming in Shadow Complex, The Prince in Prince of Persia, the male hero in Fable II, Will Grey in Dark Void, Salem in Army of II: The 40th Day and even Brawl in Transformers: War for Cybertron. And that's only scratching the surface, folks.
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Most gamers probably hear the name Keith David and think "who now?" If we said the Arbiter from the Halo series, Captain David Anderson from Mass Effect, Sgt. Foley from Modern Warfare 2 or Julius Little from Saints Row, chances are his legendarily deep and smokey voice will instantly ring out in your eardrums. Possessing one of the most easily recognizable voices in the business, David has a range that allows him to take on the role of either a wise mentor or a terrifying arch nemesis. As for this writer, he'll always be Goliath from the 1990s Gargoyles cartoon.
Jennifer Hale
Much like in Hollywood, female voice actors seem to have to work a bit harder if they want to stand out from their male counterparts. Few have done a better job of this than the versatile and oh-so-lovely Jennifer Hale. Gamers may know her from such roles as Naomi Hunter from the Metal Gear series, Samus Aran of Metroid fame and even Commander Shepard (the lady version) from Mass Effect. She's also done bits in titles like Brutal Legend, No More Heroes 2 and will be featured in the upcoming Bulletstorm. In short, she's pretty much every gaming guy's dream come true.
David Hayter
Two words: Snake? Snaaaaaaaaake!? Hayter has done a few other video game roles and spends quite a bit of his time doing voice work for dozens of animated series or writing screenplays for films like Watchmen and the first two X-Men films, but for gamers, he'll always be Snake Plissken from every single Metal Gear title to come out since the PSOne era. Putting that much gravel into your voice can't be good for the ole pipes, but Hayter seems to make it work.
Mark Hamill
Best known for his work as Cock Knocker in the 2001 classic Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Hamill also appeared for the small role of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. Possibly the busiest voice actor in the country, Hamill's award winning vocal stylings as The Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum reminded the world just how good he could be. Voicing a wide range of characters, Hamill is often overlooked in his video game performances. He did a fantastically subtle job of portraying Master Eraqus in 2010's Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, but was up to his old trickster antics as The Watcher earlier that year, keeping an eye on War in Darksiders.
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