10 Best Keith David Voice Acting Performances In Video Games

By Jamie Kennedy /

5. Vhailor - Planescape: Torment

Role-playing games have often reached for the dramatic, clamouring to be as memorable as possible for the people playing them, and aiming to suck them into the worlds in which they're based. In the case of Planescape: Torment, critical acclaim and player enjoyment was about all it achieved - released in 1999, Planescape didn't exactly set the financial world on fire, making only a modest amount in sales for developer, Black Isle Studios. Still, there remains a number of gamers who enjoy revisiting this PC-exclusive. Like many RPG's of the nineties, the game relies heavily on the old Dungeons & Dragons format, featuring exploration, combat and looting. Interestingly however, a lot of the combat is avoidable, adding a nice stealth element. The character of Vhailor can be found as a companion during the game, and Keith David is posed with the task of adapting to the difficult backstory of the warrior. Unable to grasp that he has died, Vhailor continues to inhabit his armour, and the player can actually choose to confront him, facing Vhailor in battle and vanquishing him. Credit must be given to David for the gusto he shows as the voice of what is effectively a ghostly corpse in armour. Given that gamers are still talking about his performance over 15 years after the fact, shows - once again - just how powerful good voice acting can be.