JanusForbeare Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Bethesda has a tradition of releasing phenomenal games with sub-par voice acting. In this regard, Skyrim is an improvement over Oblivion, where an entire province shared six or seven voices. Still, there's a lot of room for improvement in future releases, both in terms of quantity and quality of recordings. I've listed a few of what I feel are the high and low points of this aspect of the game. Feel free to add to the list. THE GOOD -A wider array of voices than in Oblivion, with an expanded number of characters with unique voice actors.-Extended, more cinematic NPC conversations-Michael Hogan as General Tullius! It was great to hear him as Doc Mitchell in NV, and it's even better to hear him taking on the role of a military commander. He made me want to jump into a viper and blow the frak out of some cylons. THE BAD -The conspicuous absence of Patrick Stewart. I never could deny my septims to Captain Picard when he was begging on the streets of the Imperial City.-Fewer NPC conversations than in Oblivion. Yes, there are a number of scripted conversations that play once, but it's rare to overhear two neighbours on the street exchanging the news (unless you're one of them). THE UGLY -Most of the "staple" voice actors (ie. the ones we all know and loathe from Oblivion) still don't grasp the concepts of sincerity or context. Consider the Blades, who apparently undergo partial lobotomies after taking their oaths. I never heard one of their number who didn't say, "By my honour, I pledge to rid Tamriel of dragons." like an announcer on a late-night infomercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gahnzz Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Personally, I'd toss in the great Max von Sydow as Esbern as one of the "good". He has an iconic voice and it's good to see him in a role I can interact with. That said, I know there is a mod being worked on to create a larger stable of voice acting files for the engine to draw from... a project I support to the nth degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SavageArtistry Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) Can someone tell me who voices Mercer Fray (sp?) and a lot of other male characters? He's got a scratchy voice I've heard somewhere and it's going to bug me until I figure out who he is. Edit: Nevermind. Looks like the wiki page updated. Says he's voiced by Stephen Russell. Guess I'm off to Internet Movie Database to find out where I know that voice from. Edited December 29, 2011 by SavageArtistry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrknSoul Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Heh, Christopher Smith (Molag Bal) has one of the creepist/coolest evil voices ever. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bluejay Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 All the godamn awful guards with their strange, Schwarzenegger style intonations. At least they tried to be vaguely in character, but the children? Urgh! You're walking along in faux-Viking land when suddenly you get a peppy all-American kiddo running along next to you. Was there once a big tourist trade in Skyrim? Did loads of Americans decide to abandon their children here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guatamelon Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 ''Come to dishcus the ongoing hoshtilities with the resht of the great warriors'' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimF Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 Random quotes from the guards. I really shouldn't mention the infamous "I was an adventurer like you, until..." And the fact that not only all the guards were adventurers like me, but also dark brotherhood assassins: "Psst. I know who you are, hail Sithis!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanusForbeare Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 Gahnzz, do you know who's putting together the voice library mod? I do a bit of voice acting myself and wouldn't mind contributing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khorak Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 My favourite voice actor in the game I can't put a name to, since the IMDB cast list doesn't mention any of the characters he did. He must be one of the 'Nords' guys, but I don't know which. He's easy to find in the game though, since he notably (for me) does Olfrid Battleborn and Wuunferth the Unliving. His voice is just....uniquely brilliant. Never heard anyone like him. I also like Paul Eiding as Galmar Stone-Fist, since he's one of the few people who sounds like they give a damn about....anything really, without being a bad VA. There's a sincerity to Galmars lines that are pretty damn rare throughout the whole game (another reason I like Mr. Wuunferth, he's actually also just plain good at the job). My special award for 'not really noticed but actually brilliant' award goes to whoever does the Thalmor voices (presumably Neil Dickson judging by the IMDB list), since his lines always sound good. They reach a special high point when you infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy, and listen to him basically have a conversation with himself (it's a couple of soldiers) about how hopefully a dragon will eat the arrogant mages first so they can run or kill it while it's distracted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndorilTheGreat Posted December 30, 2011 Share Posted December 30, 2011 The Bad: There's no Jeff Baker! I miss that raspy voice of the Dunmer. The Ugly: Bethesda did it again in their preview videos. They used the raspy Dunmer voice, but changed it in the final release (in both the preview of Oblivion and Skyrim). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts