There are many factors that go into making a truly great video game, but undeniably it’s the characters within the story who draw us into the story the most, providing us with the motivation to continue playing, and bestowing the game with a very distinct personality. Recent years have seen the video game medium evolve considerably, with more and more talented, A-list voice actors from Hollywood showing up to lend their talents, accepting that not only is gaming a viable way for them to earn some cash, but it’s also a viable medium that is essentially surpassing movies in many quarters. So, here we take a little look at a few of the actors who have put their considerable vocal talents down and really made a mark of their own on the titles that they have starred in.
Here are the 10 greatest casting choices in video game history.
10. Ray Liotta – Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Coming up with a sequel to the massive hit that was GTA 3 was never going to be an easy task, so what better way to assure success than with some good, even great character casting? Ray Liotta brings a lot of gangster-cred to the game of course, owing largely to his iconic signature role as Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s cinematic masterpiece Goodfellas, and his definitive voice is instantly recognisable within the gangster film genre. Liotta really sits well as Vercetti and delivers a good all-round performance on top of his already mentioned credibility, making him easily the most personable and likeable protagonist of any of the GTA games to date.
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I’d also have included Farscape’s Claudia Black as Morrigan in Dragon Age, Merle Dandridge as Alix Vance in the Half-Life games and Ellen MacLain in the Portal games (what other games have the lead voice actor sing their theme songs?). This is going back years, but I’ve also always had a soft spot for Beatz Pozniak as the telepath in the old full-motion-video “interactive movie” Psychic Detective. Honorable mention for “biggest name actor to be hired to perform in a game no one has ever heard of” goes to John Goodman who got roped into a full-motion-video performance in PYST, a parody of MYST that probably sold about 10 copies back in the 90s.
On my initial list both Ellen McLain (Portal) and Claudia Black (DAO and Uncharted 2) were there. But some sacrifices had to be made. Good Goodman also had a role in failed sandboxer Rage – he was just about the only good part in it in my opinion.
Nice list, Adrian. I’d throw up Brian Cox’s creepy role in Manhunt as another great casting choice.
I’d throw in an honorable mention to Bill Murray in the Ghostbusters video game, simply because it was good to have Venkman back.
Side Note: With the star power they attract, you could seriously do a list solely on COD/GTA/Elder Scrolls alone. Throw Fallout into the mix, and you have at least a field of 20. :D
Yeah agreed completely there are so many great choices out there. GTA is absolutely packed with great performances. This is always the kind of list where you easily add ten more. Cheers for the comments.