In Creation Games

Note: “this generation” refers to this generation of consoles.

Good voice acting is usually praised by both gamers and critics but more often than not the person behind the voice doesn’t get much credit. Normally people will say they think the voice behind “x” character is good but will rarely know who actually does the voice. I think that voice actors/actresses deserve a lot more recognition than they get so I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 voice actors/actresses of this generation. The list is based on both performances and how much they have been in but in some cases people are in higher places for having a single, amazing performance.

10.

Phil LaMarr

Phil LaMarr is primarily an actor but still does voice acting every so often. Most of the roles he’s played, he’s done well. He was Sig in Jak II and III but that’s not this generation so it doesn’t really count. His best voice acting role is without a doubt Vamp from the Metal Gear Solid series. The voice was perfected in MGS4 and he really fitted the character. He was also in inFamous which he voiced the main character. Even though John in inFamous wasn’t the best voice acting, it did show that Phil LaMarr is able to put different voices on. John had a really, really gruff voice which is why it is only decent voice acting, it was too gruff. Vamp on the other hand had a completely different voice. Fans of Mercenaries may know that he played Christopher Jacobs in both games. This was not his best performance but he did provide a voice which suited the character very well. Mercenaries was really over the top and was supposed to be humorous which Phil LaMarr managed to convey very well with his character.

He was also Marvin from Pulp Fiction which is the best movie ever so he deserves credit for that. Pulp Fiction spoilers ahead – Marvin was the guy who got shot in the head accidentally – Spoilers over.

9.

Brian Cox

The only notable video game role of Brian Cox is Visari in Killzone 2. Most of the voice acting in Killzone 2 isn’t anything special and the dialogue mainly consists of the word “Motherfucker”. Visari had better dialogue but it still wasn’t anything special. However Brian Cox made Visari the best character in Killzone 2. Nobody cared much about the story or characters in Killzone 2 and that helped Visari come out on top. Brian Cox had a very powerful voice in Killzone 2, even with the average dialogue he managed to convey some form of character in his voice. Unfortunately he hasn’t really done any other video game voices but hopefully he’ll pop up in something.

8.

Steven Barr

Like Brian Cox, Steven Barr hasn’t been in much with the exception of the role that got them in the list. Steven Barr got on this list because of his excellent role in Mass Effect in which he played Wrex. Now to put it simply, Wrex is a badass. He looks like a badass, acts like a badass, has a badass back story and sounds like a badass. The reason he sounds like a badass is due to Steven Barr. Since Wrex is an alien he won’t have the same voice as a human and Steven Barr managed to do a voice that really suited the character. It didn’t sound human but it didn’t sound too farfetched. Mass Effect had amazing voice acting and there were some really fantastic voices. Wrex is one of the best in the game but the others are superb. Hopefully Steven Barr will return for Mass Effect 2.

7.

John Di Maggio

Now I have a feeling that most people have heard of John Di Maggio, be it for his voice acting in games or somewhere else. His biggest role is Bender from Futurama which he does really well and every so often a bit of Bender comes out in his voices. He has done a lot of video game roles though, his main one being Marcus Fenix from Gears of War. He manages to give Marcus a very gruff voice but without making it too gruff. It suits the character a lot. Gears of War is pretty much devoid of any emotion except for rage and John Di Maggio can pull that off pretty well. Marcus Fenix isn’t the best voice in the list and John Di Maggio gets here for being in a quite a lot of other games too. His notable roles include: Halo 3, Madworld, Afro Samurai, Butcher Bay and Final Fantasy X. I know the last two aren’t this generation but they still deserve a mention. Even when he only makes a cameo, you are instantly reminded of Marcus Fenix which is always funny.

6.

Lydia Baksh/Anna Torv

I doubt you have heard of Lydia Baksh or Anna Torv, even if you have played the game they were in. Lydia Baksh was Kai in Heavenly Sword and Anna Torv was Nariko. I didn’t want to leave one of these out of the list because they both done a fantastic job, Hell all of the voice acting in Heavenly Sword is incredible. Lydia Baksh was what made Kai. Kai was a very fun character; she enjoyed playing games revolving around killing the enemy but was always very humorous.  Lydia Bakshs’ voice work made Kai even more fun than she would have been with a normal voice. She managed to convey many emotions behind Kai. You really felt for her at certain times and like I just said she added humour too. Anna Torv also did a fantastic voice job. She made Nariko the character she was. She was able to convey the anger that Nariko had against the enemy really well and you could feel genuine rage. In the fight against Whiptail, Nariko mocks Whiptail and the voice there had a very different tone but it was performed excellently and I needed to mention it here. Both actresses done a fantastic job at conveying the emotions behind their characters and helped made the game what it is. It’s just a shame they aren’t in anything else.

5.

Fred Tatasciore

Fred Tatasciore has been in a fair bit, not as much as some people but still an impressive amount. He has done a lot of minor roles but as you have probably guessed that’s not why he’s here. You might recognise him from Gears of War 2 where he done the voice of Baird and even though he was good as Baird he has better roles that he deserves credit for. He also did the voice of the Locust from Gears of War, the Beast (Beauty and the Beast) from Metal Gear Solid 4 and Saren from Mass Effect. He was great as Saren and sounded like the evil alien that he was supposed to be (Like Steven Barr though, he didn’t sound too alien). However, his voice as the Locust and the Beast were fantastic. If you have heard them you will know that they don’t sound like a normal, human voice. Fred Tatasciore did these voices without any special effects at all. That is pretty impressive and he done a really good job with both of them.

4.

Mike Patton

If you’ve heard of Mike Patton it probably won’t be for his voice acting roles. It will probably be for being the lead singer of Faith No More or maybe for being having lead vocals in one of these bands: Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Lovage, Fantômas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Peeping Tom. His voice acting though is where he really shines. He hasn’t been in many games but what he has done has been excellent. He was the Darkness in The Darkness and Spencer in Bionic Commando (The new one). He was great as Spencer and suited the character well; he managed to convey what Spencer was like. Even though he was good as Spencer, he was amazing as the Darkness. He went through so many voices and tones with the Darkness. He sounded like the evil, supernatural demon that he was supposed to be. Even though he hasn’t been in a lot Mike Patton provided one of the best voices of this generation in The Darkness. If he had been in more he would have easily got up to a higher place.

3.

Nolan North

Now this man has been in loads. His biggest role is Drake in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune but you might recognise him from some other games too. You might have heard him in Prince of Persia (New one), Assassin’s Creed, The Darkness, Halo 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, Halo Wars, inFamous and more. A lot of his roles, including some of the ones just mentioned, are only minor roles but he deserves recognition for being in a lot of games.  Like I said though his best role was Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune which he was excellent in. His voice was perfect for Drake; Nolan North made Drake one of the best characters of this generation. Without the voice of Nolan North Drake wouldn’t have been half as cool or witty. The voice really makes him the everyman that he was designed to be, he was also relatable and cool. It doesn’t matter what roles he does now though; whenever I hear him I always just think of Drake, especially in Prince of Persia. He is a great voice actor, he can really add to the character which is shown in Uncharted.

2.

David Hayter

David Hayter will be known by most people even though he has only been in one series of video games. He plays Solid Snake and Big Boss (MGS3, MPO) in the Metal Gear Solid series. It doesn’t matter who you pick on this list, even someone like Nolan North who has been in loads, I can assure you that David Hayter has recorded more lines of dialogue than any of them. Pick any of the MGS games and that will probably be enough to beat anyone on this list (Well, maybe a bit of hyperbole here but he overall he has the most dialogue). It doesn’t matter that he talks a lot though because he such an awesome voice which is one of the most iconic in any video game. He is Snake. He isn’t in any other games but that’s a good thing because it means that Snakes voice has more effect since it doesn’t belong to anyone else. He did an amazing job of both Snake and Big Boss. MGS4 was his best performance to date and he really showed emotion in it. David Hayter is one of my favourite voice actors of all time, not just of this generation.

1.

Jennifer Hale

This list is mostly dominated by actors rather than actresses but Jennifer Hale manages to get to top of the list with some very good roles.  She has been in quite a lot but her two best roles were Naomi from MGS4 (MGS1 too) and the female voice of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. Both roles were very well done. In MGS4 she was excellent. She always conveyed emotion as Naomi, I don’t want to spoil anything but there were some really emotional scenes. As Shepard, she also did a very good job. In both Mass Effect and MGS4 she had a lot of dialogue to record so you get hear her voice quite a lot. I always choose female in Mass Effect just because her voice acting is so good. Her other big role is Samus Arran from Metroid Prime which she also did a good job in but not as good as MGS4 or Mass Effect where she was amazing.

She has been in quite a lot of other games including: Soul Calibur IV, Mercenaries 2 (and the first), Syphon Filter and a lot more. She is one the best video game voice actress of all time, if not the best.