Top 5 Voice Actors in Gaming

Written by PaperJello
Every game has its iconic features that set it apart and make it instantly recognizable to fans and non-fans alike. It can be a logo, a theme song, or even a character’s hat. One thing that really brings games alive, and just so happens to be the subject of this article, is a character’s voice. Whether it be with a deep, heroic drawl or an upbeat, innocent lilt, a character’s voice can draw players in and really make them feel. That epic one-liner might send a chill down your spine, or that heartfelt speech might bring a tear to your eye. Maybe a character’s voice will bring you back to the good old days; nothing can fill you with nostalgia quite so well as Mario’s declaration of “its-a me!”

So in honour of these great actors that make our games that much better, here’s a list (in no particular order) of Gaming’s Top 5 Voice Actors.

TheAssailant Reviews: Borderlands 2

I bought the first Borderlands back in January 2011 when I had the urge to play a Shooter-RPG that would take my mind off of things. I played Borderlands almost everyday with my best friend in split screen co-op for hours at a time, and for even longer on a separate save. To me, playing Borderlands by myself was always a lot more boring and felt more like a chore than the pinnacle of fun it was in co-op. Sadly, since that time my best friend and I are now attending separate Universities, so I had to go through Borderlands 2 alone. However (and luckily for me), Borderlands 2 is just as much fun alone as it is with another person or a group, which should speak volumes to how it has improved over its predecessor.

Borderlands 2 Collector's Edition Unboxing

Do you enjoy spending large sums of additional money atop your already expensive retail console games? Then do we have a video for you!
Do I think this Collector's Edition is worth the $100 price tag? No.
Is the bobblehead still pretty cool and nifty? Absolutely.

Let's Play Slender w/ Marley

Now, I've seen quite a few reactions to Slender, and even though Marley has no facecam action, it's probably the best I've ever heard. If you really wanna  see  hear someone completely shit themselves in fear, this would be the place.

TheAssailant Reviews: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dawnguard

Note: This review will be split between the main game and the Dawnguard DLC. For the main game, click here.

After beating a majority of Skyrim, I shelved it because I had lost interest and didn't have much else to do. And so I patiently waited for the Dawnguard DLC, and bought it almost immediately and began to play it. Though it's still Skyrim, this DLC brings a lot of its own flavor, something I'm used to seeing in the Fallout DLCs (I never played the Oblivion DLCs, but I should get around to doing that soon). Unfortunately, it also leaves a lot to be desired.

TheAssailant Reviews: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Note: This review will be split between the main game and the Dawnguard DLC. For the DLC review, click here.

I've played the ever-loving crap out of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. I absolutely love the whole first-person open-world RPG thing, but for whatever reason, playing Oblivion was never something I fancied too well. I borrowed it from a friend and eventually gave it back because I complained it wasn't "as good as Fallout." Luckily, Skyrim is a huge improvement over Oblivion.

Crysis 3 Not Currently In Development for Wii U

In a surprising move, Crytek has dispelled any rumors that they are currently working on Crysis 3 for the Wii U. Previously, Crytek had stated that they received a Wii U SDK and were pleased with it. They had stated that their development team in Nottingham "are very happy with their tests on the dev kits and they're excited about it."

Speaking about the possibility of Crysis 3 on Wii U, Crytek's general manager Nick Button-Brown stated on his Twitter account:

"Just to answer the speculation, we are not currently working on a [Wii U] version of [Crysis 3]."

It is entirely possible that although they have the SDK for the Wii U, that the console was announced too late in the development cycle of Crysis 3 (as it would require them to work on the game for the console and spend more money testing it alongside the other 3 versions). It's also likely that a Wii U version releasing alongside the 360, PS3 and PC versions would have pushed Crysis 3 to a later date, and that the publisher (EA) wouldn't appreciate the delay.

Via: Joystiq
Source: @nickbuttonbrown

E3 2012: Watch Dogs Gameplay Demo

Hands down this is easily the best game to come out of the Ubisoft Press Conference, and is in strong contention for my Game of Show.

Minecraft Power-Hour of Fail w/ TheAssailant and Marley

"Pigeongamer" a.k.a. Marley, and I failed pretty hard at Minecraft this weekend when we tried playing in a HUGE map without any plan as to what we were going to do. It all culminated in the last part (part 6) where everything just fell apart and the fail kept piling up.

Minecraft Test Recording

I decided to make a quick test recording of Minecraft using my new graphics card. The results came out pretty nice, a fixed 30FPS while recording, though it will pretty much have to be at a low resolution, since FRAPS has a tendency to eat frames up like crazy and Minecraft isn't the most GPU-friendly game and combined they form a new allegiance in frame-drops this world has probably already experienced if they've tried recording Minecraft in the past. A video this smooth could've never been possible in the past with my old card.... and thus the long wait.

I'm also going to blame my CPU, considering that I got GTA IV to look astoundingly beautiful and my CPU just sits there and chokes on all the textures having to load, etc., keeping my framerate at the same 13 frames I had with the old card on lowest settings. Yeah.

The Elder Scrolls Online Announcement Trailer

So Bethesda just announced their latest entry into the Elder Scrolls universe, which is an MMORPG. I have to admit that although I've openly stated that I hate MMORPGs in general (and especially World of Warcraft, but for more personal reasons), I have to admit that I'm actually pretty stoked for TES Online. I'll definitely have to try it out, being that I recently got every achievement in Skyrim (I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'm definitely tooting my own horn here) and fell in love with that game so much (though nothing will ever overshadow my love for Fallout 3).

Speaking of Fallout, I'm guessing this also means Bethesda is closer to talking about the Fallout MMO that had been in development for half a decade at Interplay, which Bethesda then sued to get the rights because they weren't being given progress reports as promised. Sometime in the near future, perhaps.

Medal Of Honor Warfighter Debut Trailer

Assassin's Creed 3 - Reveal Trailer [GDC]

This looks as if it could be real-time WiiU footage who knows, we will keep you posted on more GDC coverage all week long.

Alan Wake PC Proves Itself: Sells Like Crazy In Just 2 Days

I can vividly remember reading countless forum posts on PC gaming sites about people's disappointment that Alan Wake wouldn't be seeing a PC release and would be a 360 exclusive. Well, a couple years have passed, and Alan Wake PC has become a reality and apparently there was still a high enough demand for the PC version that it sold enough copies on Steam to pay for itself in just 48 hours. Seriously. Now if only Epic would take notice of this and get around to releasing the rest of the Gears games on PC...

Source: Kotaku

Resident Evil 6 Reveal Trailer

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HearMii Max Payne 3 Preview Impressions

Not too long ago I was given the privilege to see a live demo of Max Payne 3 in action thanks to the good people over at Rockstar. Now I'm here to tell you why you should be excited for Max Payne 3 and how Rockstar has done it again; innovating while creating the great, mature, fun gameplay they're known for.

The demo began with a cut-scene between Max Payne and some officers on the outside. This opening was a great example to showcase the still-heavy emphasis on telling a compelling story. While I wont spoil what was happening for you (as the main purpose of this preview is to give you an idea of where the game is going), everything seemed as impactful as the first two games, giving you reasons to care about the characters.

The first part of the combat shown was used as a means to show off the tweaks made to the gun mechanics with a high emphasis on slow motion. The combat seemed very compelling and also very familiar to the previous games, which is a really good thing. As Max Payne began shooting across panes of windows, the game slowed down: not only showing the increased accuracy changes to the control and detail visuals, but also showing the awesome animations which is really what makes this game the Citizen Kane of Max Paynes.

This brings me on to the final part of the demo where Max Payne is fending off a bunch of goons in a gas station, which was a perfect place to really show off how the animations work in this game, as well as the level of detail in the game world itself. As bullets fire across the screen and debris whisk around the station, the game was doing an excellent job marrying the cut-scenes and the gameplay with the oh-so-pretty-looking explosions. Towards the end of the demo, I got to see how the animations were really used to create this perfect marriage of cinematic gun mechanics and excellent game design. The demo showed how Max Payne can now dive into prone in real time and also completely rotate 180 degrees dynamically, but the part that really made it for me was how fluid and detailed the movements were: all the way down to the movements of the fingers.



Max Payne 3 is shaping up to be a killer hit for 2012 and I can't wait to get my hands on the full game for myself (as I'm sure you too may now be more interested in picking up May Payne 3). Stay tuned on HearMii.com for any and all updates regarding Max Payne 3 and a big thank you to Rockstar for giving me this opportunity. Max Payne 3 is slated to be released in March 2012.

Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand Gameplay Premiere Trailer

Grand Theft Auto V - Debut Trailer

Modern Warfare 3: Weapon Proficiencies Trailer

5 Indie Games You Need to Play Right Now (If You Aren't Already)

The great thing about indie developers is that they're not tied to a publisher who tells them what they can and can't do. Indie devs don't need approval from a higher up, they just do what they want and either self-publish, or their game gets picked up by an interested publisher (which appears to be a rarity, but does on occasion happen). Indie games can be in a whole range of prices, some free, others $15+ and some in-between. The following are 5 that, in my opinion you should all go play right this instant.