No No, I Was Talking About The Mountains

So here I was sitting around thinking that I haven't really done a list of anything voice related recently. Now I have done best quotes, favourite Voice actors and so on and so forth, but then I realized I have never done what I thought were the best Voice Acting performances in video games. Now obviously this is my opinion and some will probably disagree, but in the end it is my list isn't it.

5. Ellen McLain - GLaDOS

Not only is the Portal franchise something which anyone who has ever played always have a connection to. The Ellen McLain preformance as GLaDOS is nothing short of a masterpiece. So much so that the movie Pacific Rim featured the iconic voice

4. Roger Craig Smith - Ezio Auditore

There is a reason Ezio is one of the most beloved video game characters of all time. Sure the story is well done and we see him right from a baby all until his death. To me though none of it happens without the masterful portrayal by Roger Craig Smith

3. Troy Baker - Joel

Troy Baker has done countless amazing performances across tons of games, but I don't think you could even get him to say one was better than Joel. The Last of Us is itself a masterpiece but all the pieces had to come together to bring it to that. Without Baker this wouldn't have happened.

2. Liam O'Brien - Caius Ballad

Most know him for the words "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED" and does an amazing job as Illidan every step of the way. Really though none of his performances are better than  Caius. There really is something if you have played the games or not you can appreciated every word which comes out of Caius' mouth. Nothing is said without reason and without purpose and that is exactly how he makes it sound.

1. Nolan North - Nathan Drake

Nolan North is in everything. He is the iconic voice actor of our time. Out of all of his amazing performances though I don't know how you can pick any other than Nathan Drake. He has a way of expressing emotion in every direction better than any other voice actor there is. Something which really can't be ignored. It will be a sad day when Uncharted 4 is over.

There you have it. Think I got it right?

You Are Not Prepared

Voice acting. Something which has become second nature in games. Something which we have come to take advantage of. The amount of talent some of these people have is tremendous. The way they can model themselves and their voice to be what we as gamers expect it to be. There are bad voice acting experiences with anything. The Tidus laughing sequence in Final Fantasy X comes to mind, but with the bad also comes the good and the great. So this brings me to this week's list my 5 favourite voice actors.

5. Dave Mallow

Quite often refereed to as the narrator since so many times in games he is just that or HQ or the voice on the other end of the mic. He is the one when you are playing a game you recognize the voice but you just don't know where from. Some of his more popular roles are Lor'themar from WoW, Soul Calibur's Narator, CoD:Black Ops Richard Nixon and Tekken's Paul Phoenix

4. Roger Craig Smith

Probably one of the most well known voice actors since he always is the one to strike a particular one of his voices whenever he is out and about. He has the ability to be the roles he is doing, and you actually wonder how that voice came out of that person. His most popular roles being Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed, Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, and of course he is Sonic the Hedgehog

3.  Troy Baker

What is there really to say about this guy. He is truly one of the elite. He becomes part of the character just as much as anyone. There is never a bad sequence for him and for a voice actor that truly is a difficult thing. Some of his roles have been Joel from The Last of Us, Joker from Arkam Orgins, Snow from Final Fantasy XIII series, and the Scoundrel from Diablo III.

2. Nolan North

He is everywhere. Or maybe that is just what it seems. You would actually be surprised knowing he played some of the characters you have known and loved over the years. His ability to make something special for a character is just that special. I could list forever with some of his more popular roles but here are just a few Hell in Saint's ROw IV he even has a voice option called Nolan North. Some others include Nathan Drake from Uncharted, Desmond Miles from Assassin's Creed, Deadpool from X-Men games, and The Prince from Prince of Persia.

1. Liam O'Brien

Now Liam may not have the resume of Troy or Nolan North but I have never heard any voice that he has ever done and not appreciated everything it had. He is the type of voice actor that everything he says can turn into an epic speech at any moment. You know and recognize him because of those epic lines which stick with you. THey are the lines you say to your friends, and this is the very reason he is my favourite. Here are some of his big ones Illidan Stormrage from WoW, Caius Ballad from Final Fantasy XIII series, League of Legends Yasuo, and the Ghost from Starcraft II.

There you have it this week's list. What do you think? Is there a voice you cannot get out of your head? Which sticks with you no matter what you play?

Troy Baker

Safiree Saturdays

Happy Saturday everybody :) Hope your week was great. I've been pvp grinding.... Nothing much else. VGU awards 2013 happened. Troy Baker was crowned best voice actor of the year. I'd say this is very much earned, given his role as the Joker, and Joel were literally performances that won't be easily forgotten.

Not to mention, EYE CANDY for days :D
Gauss showed me a video of Troy Bakers work that changed the way I felt about voice acting. Gave me a whole new appreciation for the amount of passion somebody can cram into their voice.




Yepp, Troy Baker gets his own post. Well deserved. :)
Also, today in history Pearl Harbor should be remembered. December 7th, 1941.

-Safiree