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From: www.gamesradar.com

The most inhumanly versatile voice actors in video games

Added: 27.05.2015 12:30 | 35 views | 0 comments


There was a time when video game voice acting could've conceivably doubled as torture. Simply slap a pair of headphones on your primary suspect and proceed to bang out a 'best of the mid-'90s' VO playlist. I'll bet that by the time they reached Grandia, said villain would have been too busy contemplating the innumerable, illogical absurdities of the 'Jill sandwich' to put up too much of a struggle. Word to the wise - if they're muttering something about a wizard, the moon, and sucking on their thumb from the foetal position then you know you've gone too far.

Thankfully, in-game audio has come an awfully long way since then. For example, we now have actual professionals voicing our icons, as opposed to whichever member of the penal system didn't fancy stamping out license plates that day. Today's big list of stuff will attempt to acquaint you with some of the more prolific players in the modern industry. Particular attention has been paid to the most versatile stars therein, as opposed to folks like Keith David who're specifically contracted for their rich, silky speaking voices. Sorry about that Keith, but knowing that the same bloke voices both Batman and Sonic is just way teresting.

Who? Robin Atkin Downes is a film, television, theatre and video game voice actor, mo-cap performer and music producer. He also has experience in directing. Think of him as the Swiss army knife of this list. A Swiss army knife with great hair.

Who else? Downes portrays Metal Gear Solid's Kaz Miller, Just Cause's Rico Rodriguez, Uncharted 2's Tenzin, Ratchet and Clank's Captain Slag, Team Fortress 2's Medic and Gear of War's Locust Kantus - among others.

Who? Jennifer Hale is the veritable 'first lady' of video game voice acting, though she's also appeared in several live action productions. Last year Hale engaged in a spirited 8-week hot-air balloon race, vying against Tara Strong for the opportunity to call 'dibs' on all of 2015's best roles. Of course, none of that actually happened, but it should've done.

Who else? Hale is the woman behind Bioshock Infinite's Rosalind Lutece, MGS2's Emma Emmerich, Metroid Prime's Samus Aran, Halo 4's Sarah Palmer and Mass Effect's female rendering of Shepard. She also provided the voicework for both versions of Metal Gear Solid's Naomi Hunter (both the early British and later American incarnations).

Who? Mike Patton is the uber eclectic frontman of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, and about a dozen other bands. He began voice acting in 2007, and is typically tasked with providing gruesome monster noises.

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Who else? Patton has provided the pipes behind Portal 2's Anger Core, Left 4 Dead's Infected (including the Smoker Hunter variants) as well as The Darkness' titular nasties. Oh, and he's also responsible for Bionic Commando 09's gritty, cheeseball hero.

Who? Tara Strong is a well known voice over artist and television actress. Her distinctive surname was bestowed upon her by the old gods after witnessing Tara's completion of the 12 labours of Hercules. Of the 12, Tara counts the Lernaean Hydra as being the single most challenging foe.

Who else? Strong has voiced Batman: Arkham's Harley Quinn, Mortal Kombat's Ferra, Metal Gear's Paz, Jak Daxter's Keira and Final Fantasy X's Rikku. Plus a boatload more.

Who? Armin Shimerman is a film and television actor best known for playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Principal Snyder and Star Trek: Deep Space 9's Quark. Fun fact: Shimerman came up with the design for Quark's face while bashing a catcher's mitt with a baseball bat? No, not really, but he might as well have done.

Who else? Shimerman has appeared as Mass Effect's Salarian Councillor, Ratchet and Clank's Dr. Nefarious and Bioshock's Andrew Ryan.

Who? Grey DeLisle is a singer, voice actress and occasional stand-up comic. She also goes by the pseudonym of 'Grey Griffin', which probably comes in really handy during live action role-playing.

Who else? DeLisle has voiced Jeanne from the Bayonetta series, Catwoman in Batman: Arkham, Sly Cooper's Carmelita Fox and Amanda from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Who? Nolan North is a professional actor and voice over artist/bona fide gaming institution. Little known fact: both he and Troy Baker are immortal Highlanders simultaneously attempting to corner the voice over market, because of course 'there can only be one'.

Who else? North voices everyone from DOTA 2's squealing Gyrocopter pilot to the CoD franchise's zombie-mad Richtofen. Other characters include Uncharted's Nathan Drake, Injustice's General Zod, Batman's Oswald Cobblepot and Portal 2's Space, Adventure and Fact Cores.

Who? Ellen McLain is an opera singer and voice actress who regularly contributes to Valve Corp. video games. Her husband is similarly involved with the company, having provided the voice of the Sniper in Team Fortress 2. And no, they didn't meet up while screaming robotic threats into a microphone. Shame.

Who else? McLain's work includes stints as DOTA 2's Broodmother, Left 4 Dead's Witch monster, Half-Life 2's Overwatch speaker and - most famously of all - Portal's array of talkative turrets and the evil A.I. GLaDOS.

Who? James Arnold Taylor is a professional cartoon and video game voice actor. Long-term exposure to the man's unique brand of laughter has been known to cause ferocious irritation in viewers.

Who else? Taylor's most notable roles include Ratchet from the Ratchet and Clank series, the Clone Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi (both in video games and TV) as well as Final Fantasy X's boisterous lead character Tidus. He also does a rather good Jack Sparrow impression.

Who? Lani Minella is a professional voice actress specialising in video games. I wonder how many people accidentally call her Liza Minnelli on a daily basis?

Who else? Lani voices the female infected in The Last of Us, Sheeva from Mortal Kombat 9, Ivy in SoulCalibur, the Koopa kids from the Mario franchise, and the female fighters in the Worms series.

Who? Troy Baker is a musician, mo-cap actor and award-winning voice over artist specialising in video games. He spends much of his time coated in brightly coloured ping-pong balls trying not to laugh.

Who else? Baker's work includes appearances as Batman: Arkham's Two-Face, Metal Gear Solid V's Ocelot, The Last of Us' Joel, Far Cry 4's Pagin Min and Arkham Origins' Joker.

Who? Jen Taylor is a professional voicework and theatre actress, contracted to the Halo franchise for the next 187,000 instalments, or the complete heat death of the universe - whichever comes first.

Who else? Taylor's impressive C.V. boasts several big name gigs, including those of Princess Peach and Halo's Cortana. Other notable performances include No One Lives Forever's Cate Archer, Left 4 Dead's Zoey and DOTA 2's Medusa.

Who? Fred Tatasciore is a prolific voice actor appearing in film, television and video games. He once voiced one of Jar Jar Binks' annoying Gungan buddies, and probably felt really terrible about it afterwards. We forgive you Fred, you couldn't have known.

Who else? Tatasciore has voiced Baird from Gears of War, Zeratul (Starcraft 2), Bane (Arkham City), Mario (Assassin's Creed 2), both the Tank and Boomer monsters from Left 4 Dead, and Mass Effect's Saren Arterius.

Who? Terrence Carson is an acclaimed stage actor, tv performer and vocalist. Fun fact: Carson was also betrayed by almighty Zeus. He was pretty chilled about it though.

Who else? Carson has portrayed God of War's vengeful Spartan Kratos, the Saints Row series' Big Tony and Star Wars' own Mace Windu.

Who? Quinton Flynn is a video game voice actor and writer. Fun fact: the name Quinton Flynn would also suit a restaurant critic and/or a wealthy teenaged adventurer.

Who else? Flynn voices Sonic's Silver the Hedgehog, Metal Gear's Raiden, Henry from the No More Heroes games, and Crash Bandicoot's Dr. N. Gin.

Who? Mark Hamill is a professional acto… - y'know what, forget it, the man's Luke Skywalker, LUKE SKYWALKER damn it! Oh and he was in all those Wing Commander games too…

Who else? Hamill has provided the voice behind CoD 2's old-timey narrator, X2's Wolverine and of course Arkham's main-series iteration of the Joker.

Who? Matthew Mercer is an anime and video game voice actor. His name is also an anagram for 'Mew Meth Carter', which in the context of the Pokémon franchise would certainly explain a lot…

Who else? Mercer provides the pipes behind Street Fighter 4's Fei Long, Arkham Origins' Anarky, Resi 6's Leon, and Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell's Blackbeard.

Who? Roger Craig Smith is a professional voice actor specialising in anime, video game and cartoon-based voicework. Since winning the role of Batman in Arkham Origins, Smith has received numerous lewd phone calls from a man referring to himself only as 'Conroy Kevin'. Police are baffled. And of course, none of that actually happened.

Who else? Smith lends his considerable talents to a wide array of gaming icons, including Ezio Auditore (Assassin's Creed 2), Chris Redfield (Resident Evil 5), Batman/Bruce Wayne (Batman: Arkham Origins) and err… Sonic the Hedgehog. That's quite the range.

Who? Steve Blum is a professional voice actor specialising in anime, cartoons and video games. Fun fact about Steve: he was only one botched birth certificate away from being called 'Steve Bum'.

Who else? Blum has voiced Sub-Zero and Reptile in Mortal Kombat X, Wolverine from the X-Men franchise, Killer Croc in the Batman: Arkham series, Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, Final Fantasy Type-0's Cid, and Grayson Hunt from Bulletstorm. Also, about .

Konami Were Considering Metal Gear Rising 2, Kojima Break Up Unfortunate: Raiden's VA

Added: 26.05.2015 20:22 | 24 views | 0 comments


Quinton Flynn discusses working on a Metal Gear title without Kojima directing.

From: n4g.com

These 15 Controversial Games Have Been Banned Overseas

Added: 12.05.2015 1:55 | 52 views | 0 comments


1. Mortal Kombat



You knew this one would be on here. Mortal Kombat tops our list with official bans in Brazil, Germany, South Korea, and Australia. With this year's new release easily earning the distinction of the most violent game in the series, we wouldn't be surprised if even more bans followed.


2. Red Dead Redemption



John Marston's gritty adventure through the Wild West was banned in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for scenes containing nudity. The UAE ultimately repealed the ban two months later, presumably because officials actually played the game and realized how great it was.


3. Left 4 Dead 2



A German court outlawed the original version of L4D2, saying it "trivializes violence due to its high killing rate and explicit graphical representation of mutilation." Australia also refused to classify the game for commercial sale, citing "copious amounts of blood spray and splatter."


4. Sonic Blast Man



America has a strong tradition of free speech, but it doesn't tolerate safety hazards. The unique arcade game Sonic Blast Man was recalled because of injuries and safety concerns about its punching pad. It was never redistributed. (Image via Arcade Flyer Archive)


5. South Park: The Stick of Truth



South Park is known for pushing buttons, and The Stick of Truth is no exception. Ubisoft censored the European, Russian, and Australian releases of the game, while Lebanon and Saudi Arabia banned the game outright. Turns out the world's just not ready for that level of alien probing.


6. Injustice: Gods Among Us



Injustice itself is pretty tame for a fighting game, considering it was designed by the creators of Mortal Kombat. However, it still received a ban in Kuwait for including the word "gods" in the title.


7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2



GRAW 2 was banned in the Mexican state of Chihuahua after Juarez Mayor Héctor Murguía Lardizábal labeled the game "a crime against the intellectual capacity of Juarez residents." The problem originated with a mission in the game depicting a battle with Mexican rebels.


8. Pokémon



Pokémon seems like the least controversial game, but that didn't stop Saudi Arabia from banning it for promoting gambling and for featuring religious iconography and Freemasonry symbols. This may be a case of looking for something that was never there.


9. Call of Duty: Black Ops II



Call of Duty: Black Ops II sold more than 24 million copies worldwide, but very few of those purchases were made in Pakistan, where the game was banned. A local manufacturers association recommended the injunction for showing "the country in a very poor light."


10. EA Sports MMA



Denmark has a law restricting the use of energy drink product placements in games. Rather than sacrifice the game's "authentic recreation" of MMA corporate sponsorship, EA refused to alter the game and did not ship it to that region.


11. Mass Effect



BioWare's space opera epic was initially banned in Singapore for featuring a cross-species alien love scene. Who knows what the government would do if they watched an episode of Farscape?


12. Battlefield 3



Iranians were upset with a plotline involving an invasion of Tehran, leading the deputy police chief to prohibit stores them from selling the game. The Global Islamic Media Front later reskinned an anti-US version of the game titled "Night of Bush Capturing."


13. Bully



Anti-video-game attorney Jack Thompson isn't the only one with a grudge against Bully. The country of Brazil banned the game because its violence takes place within a school setting. A Brazilian state prosecutor called the milieu "unacceptable."


14. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift



BlazBlue is a victim of the United Arab Emirates' restrictive National Media Council, which proclaimed the fighting game's sexy costumes too raunchy. The artsy relationship puzzle game Catherine was also banned in the UAE because of its sexual themes.


15. Football Manager 2005



FM05 was prohibited in China because "Taipei of Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Macao region, and China's Tibet are represented as independent countries," instead of Chinese territories, according to China Daily.


From: www.gamespot.com

These 15 Controversial Games Have Been Banned Overseas

Added: 12.05.2015 1:55 | 42 views | 0 comments


1. Mortal Kombat



You knew this one would be on here. Mortal Kombat tops our list with official bans in Brazil, Germany, South Korea, and Australia. With this year's new release easily earning the distinction of the most violent game in the series, we wouldn't be surprised if even more bans followed.


2. Red Dead Redemption



John Marston's gritty adventure through the Wild West was banned in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for scenes containing nudity. The UAE ultimately repealed the ban two months later, presumably because officials actually played the game and realized how great it was.


3. Left 4 Dead 2



A German court outlawed the original version of L4D2, saying it "trivializes violence due to its high killing rate and explicit graphical representation of mutilation." Australia also refused to classify the game for commercial sale, citing "copious amounts of blood spray and splatter."


4. Sonic Blast Man



America has a strong tradition of free speech, but it doesn't tolerate safety hazards. The unique arcade game Sonic Blast Man was recalled because of injuries and safety concerns about its punching pad. It was never redistributed. (Image via Arcade Flyer Archive)


5. South Park: The Stick of Truth



South Park is known for pushing buttons, and The Stick of Truth is no exception. Ubisoft censored the European, Russian, and Australian releases of the game, while Lebanon and Saudi Arabia banned the game outright. Turns out the world's just not ready for that level of alien probing.


6. Injustice: Gods Among Us



Injustice itself is pretty tame for a fighting game, considering it was designed by the creators of Mortal Kombat. However, it still received a ban in Kuwait for including the word "gods" in the title.


7. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2



GRAW 2 was banned in the Mexican state of Chihuahua after Juarez Mayor Héctor Murguía Lardizábal labeled the game "a crime against the intellectual capacity of Juarez residents." The problem originated with a mission in the game depicting a battle with Mexican rebels.


8. Pokémon



Pokémon seems like the least controversial game, but that didn't stop Saudi Arabia from banning it for promoting gambling and for featuring religious iconography and Freemasonry symbols. This may be a case of looking for something that was never there.


9. Call of Duty: Black Ops II



Call of Duty: Black Ops II sold more than 24 million copies worldwide, but very few of those purchases were made in Pakistan, where the game was banned. A local manufacturers association recommended the injunction for showing "the country in a very poor light."


10. EA Sports MMA



Denmark has a law restricting the use of energy drink product placements in games. Rather than sacrifice the game's "authentic recreation" of MMA corporate sponsorship, EA refused to alter the game and did not ship it to that region.


11. Mass Effect



BioWare's space opera epic was initially banned in Singapore for featuring a cross-species alien love scene. Who knows what the government would do if they watched an episode of Farscape?


12. Battlefield 3



Iranians were upset with a plotline involving an invasion of Tehran, leading the deputy police chief to prohibit stores them from selling the game. The Global Islamic Media Front later reskinned an anti-US version of the game titled "Night of Bush Capturing."


13. Bully



Anti-video-game attorney Jack Thompson isn't the only one with a grudge against Bully. The country of Brazil banned the game because its violence takes place within a school setting. A Brazilian state prosecutor called the milieu "unacceptable."


14. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift



BlazBlue is a victim of the United Arab Emirates' restrictive National Media Council, which proclaimed the fighting game's sexy costumes too raunchy. The artsy relationship puzzle game Catherine was also banned in the UAE because of its sexual themes.


15. Football Manager 2005



FM05 was prohibited in China because "Taipei of Taiwan, the Hong Kong-Macao region, and China's Tibet are represented as independent countries," instead of Chinese territories, according to China Daily.


From: www.gamespot.com


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