Yay! More dead-horse beatings today! Voice acting is a relatively new addition to gaming. Before it was all shiny cut-scenes with silent actors. Much like the debut of "talkie" movies, voice acting changed gaming in a big way. No longer were actors hired to grunt, growl or "exert effort." Now studios had to hire folks who could impart emotion. Now actors on film could work in games (and give publishers a bullet point for the box: "Starring Samuel L. Jackson!" and by "starring" we mean "he has a role"). Now people expect voices for all their characters, and it can make or break a game.
First, I want to point out that I love Jennifer Hale's portrayal of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. The rest of the cast is good, but she is phenomenal. I love her tone, range and the gravitas she adds to speeches. If today was about singular characters, she would definitely be in the Top 2.
Jennifer Hale, the voice of Fem-Shep
But, there is one series that consistently has amazing voice acting and deserves to stand alone as the game with the best. That series is Uncharted. Surprised? No, I didn't think so.
It really starts with hero Nathan Drake. Nolan North does a lot of voices. A lot. But Drake seems to be the role North was meant to play. In every game, Drake becomes more lovable and memorable. North does such a good job of adding just the right amount of dry tones, wry quips and that heroic cheesiness that I cannot imagine anyone else doing more. North makes Drake into a hero as awesome as Indiana Jones.
Nolan North and his alter-ego Nathan Drake
The rest of the cast support North in such amazing ways. The two main "side-kicks" of Sully (played by Richard McGonagle) and Elena (the gorgeous Emily Rose) have an easy relationship with Drake (and by extension North). This means that banter can be off the cuff. This means that scenes flow better because the actors have actual chemistry. It's one thing to record voices separate and hope that the "intention" comes through. The team at Naughty Dog has the actors record together when possible. This means that the actual friendships and chemistry the actors form translates into the game. They also get to work on the motion capture together. These characters are the actors, much like you would see in a movie. You can't ask for better than that!
Emily Rose and her character Elena Fisher
Richard McGonagle and his cigar-chomping avatar Victor "Sully" Sullivan
And, outside the main trio, the supporting cast is always awesome. They each added so much to the games, but never felt shoe-horned. The relationship between Drake and the sultry Chloe (nerd love interest Claudia Black) was a nice counter to the chaste romance between Elena and Drake. Hilarious thief Cutter (played so perfectly by Graham McTavish) wouldn't feel out of place in a Guy Richie film, and yet he matched Drake with wit and charm.
Oh Cutter...
As good as the heroes sound, the villains match. While the first villains were a bit one-dimensional and so laughably evil, they still sounded good. Aqot Navarro and Zoran Lazarevic (Robin Atkin Downes and McTavish respectively) always sounded menacing and you loved to hate them. Where the series burst out of this and created a villain that felt deep and real was in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. That villain was Katherine Marlowe (played by Rosalind Ayres). Marlowe was menacing, but calculating. She was like watching a dangerous animal: you know that violent death is possible at any second, but there is a certain grace and beauty to it. Ayres added a dripping, dark tone to her interactions with North's Drake. The two competed for the same prize, and she was the first villain that really felt real. The scenes with these two are some of the best written/acted in gaming, hands down.
Katherine Marlowe is one evil lady
And really, all these actors bring stories to life. But that story has to have a life of it's own. Thanks to Amy Hennig (again) for bringing that story to life and giving these characters a chance to shine.
Nolan even LOOKS like Nathan a bit!
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