Anyone else concerned about the voice acting?

[Qhartb]

I am concerned about the voice actors. Robert Culp (Breen), Lou Gossett (HL2 vortigaunts) and Robert Guillaume (Eli Vance) seem to have left. Merle Dandridge still does a good job, but we spend so much time with Alyx that her work stops standing out; Michael Shapiro's Barney didn't show up this episode and his G-Man is fantastic but only get a few awesome minutes per game. The new Vortigaunts are okay, but a bit silly. Harry Robins's Kleiner is fun, but by nature of his character being pretty exaggerated, he can complement a great cast, but can't make a cast great. (The Ep1 Kleinercast was pretty fun, though.) Michelle Forbes's Mossman is fine, but isn't a standout. Even Guillaume's Eli didn't seem as good in Ep2; he seemed tired or mildly sick. He's 80 now. Maybe he's getting old faster than his character is.

Don't get me wrong -- it's still good. Still great compared to most video games. It's just not what is was in HL2 and Ep1. I really hope they get actors in the future to match Culp's and Guillaume's work in those two games.

 

[Absinthe]

Not really, no.

I do hope Culp comes back, though.

 

[Shift]

Just as exellent the previous 2 games I think.

 

[el Chi]

I think the new Vorts sound better, to be honest. The old ones sounded too much like a chronic smoker doing a bad Jamaican accent.

 

[Absinthe]

I still don't get the drastic change between the way vorts sounded in HL1 as compared to now.

Even the old HL2 alpha leak had sound files (probably placeholder) trying to capture that more aggressive, raspy vocalization.

 

[Darkside55]

I hated those, to be honest. They scratched my eardrum.

 

[Absinthe]

I didn't care for them either, but I think that had more to do with the quality of the voice acting itself.

Vorts used to make some strange sounds too when simply idling, none of which I've ever heard again. I doubt there's some kind of canonical explanation for the sudden change between the games. Valve probably just figured that Shakespearian aliens would be cooler or something, much like their appearance has changed significantly since the first game.

 

[Asknoone]

I think it's still top notch. I miss Culp, and I'd like to see him again...even if it's just an old, long lost transmission from Breen. Alyx was played down due to fatigue and Eli as being 'weak', yet they were still great. I'm looking forward to Michelle Forbes in 3, and whatever new characters we get...I just hope Kleiner doesn't go anywhere. :-/ I'm not really that bothered about Barney.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

I prefer the old Vortis.

 

[staticprimer]

I was really impressed with the voice acting of the rebels this time around. I was getting kind of tired of the same three voices that did all of the rebels in HL2 and Ep1. That's why I was so glad to hear some new ones, especially Adam Baldwin.

 

[leib10]

I think Merle Dandridge does an excellent job, as do the rest of the crew. The voice-acting in HL2 has always been truly top-notch, one of the last things I worry about.

 

[Nitre]

I think Merle Dandridge does an excellent job, as do the rest of the crew. The voice-acting in HL2 has always been truly top-notch, one of the last things I worry about.

Exactly my opinion.

 

[Chug a Bug]

I've no complaints about the voice acting as such. I do miss the old Vort's though. I loved their voices it was so... alien. And I miss their enigmatic phrases there don't seem to be as many of them, or is it just me?

 

[jerkasaur]

meh, i never understood what they said anyway...

 

[Pesmerga]

May you be adequate.

 

[jerkasaur]

May you be adequate.

that sounds like what a vorty would say.

 

[The Mild Gatsby]

The Rebels had some great new voice actors.

 

[kupocake]

The guy with the... texan accent (sorry, I'm rubbish with American accents), who briefs you outside the sawmill, was hugely jarring. Probably because I've seen the same character model 14,000 times before and he didn't sound like that.

I can't believe they went with the same generic citizens again...

 

[SpectreBlofeld]

The only one that bugged me was the new Vortigaunt voice. They don't sound 'alien' anymore. And actually, their writing seemed a little dumbed down. They used to be a bit more... mysterious. Here's a list of Vortigaunt quotes from HL2 and Ep1:

"We remember the Freeman. We are coterminous."
"There is no distance between us. No false veils of time or space may intervene."
"We see you still in Black Mesa. Clearly we see you in the Nihilanth's chamber."
"We bear witness to the bright eternity of the Nihilanth's demise. You leap, you fall, we see you flash beyond the barriers."
"For a brief time you joined with us. You are one. Between the worlds."
"Communion of the vortessence. And that other: a deeper mystery. No deeper than the void itself."
"We cannot forget those whose cords you cut. Forgiveness is not ours to bestow."
"Unity of purpose, the shattering of common shackles, a single road we tread."
"Your song we sing and shall sing for eternity. No matter the consequences of this struggle."
"You have brought us grief and jubilation beyond measure."
"We are there still, in observance of your final stroke."
"While our own lay scattered at your feet, you severed the vortal cord that bound the Nihilanth to life, and to us."
"That sharp spur of hope has not dulled to this day. For once the lesser master lay defeated, we knew the greater must also fall in time."
"With you beside us, a talisman of victory, the day of freedom draws nigh."
"Your bright face obscures your darker mask."
"We call you sib, although your mind and meaning are a mystery to us."
"Far distant eyes look out through yours."

-Note: This is most likely breaking the fourth wall and referring to the player, as the player sees everything through Gordon's eyes.
"Something secret steers us both. We shall not name it."
"We have endured these chafing bonds for eons, yet a single moment of further servitude seems intolerable!"
"How often have we slipped our yoke, only to find it choking us again."
"Let this war end in either total victory or our extinction. No further compromise shall we allow."
"We take our stand beside you, here, upon this miserable rock."
"The way ahead is dark for the moment."
"What seems to you a sacrifice is merely, to us, an oscillation. We do not fear the interval of darkness."
"We are a tapestry woven of vortessence. It is the same for you if only you would see it."
"How many are there in you? Whose hopes and dreams do you encompass?"
"Could you but see the eyes inside your own, the minds in your mind, you would see how much we share."
"We are you, Freeman. And you are us."
"We have lost all dear to us."
"The Combine will pay in kind for their depravity."
"Hope is in sight."
"This marks a turning point."
"Such pessimism will doom us all."
"We have survived darker times."
"Our finest poet describes it thus: Gallum galla gilla ma." - my favorite.
"You humans, always in the validity."
"We deem this company inviolable."
"Your companionship is greatly belabored."
"Freeman, we could be of use to you."
"We shall share the vortessence."
"Our life is worthless unless spent on freedom."
"We never dreamed to meet you in corporeal form."
"Where to, now? And to what end?"
"This is more than anyone can bear, but we will persevere."
"We are mindful of the words of our greatest philosopher: 'Kpnnum gninin vogenuk!'
"Our cause seems hopeless."
"It is more than any man can bear, yet we will perservere."

 

[Chug a Bug]

^ Thats just what I was trying to say before. Dammit if I didn't love that stuff.

 

[leib10]

I also thought the Vortigaunt dialogue was a little weak. A big break from the cryptic and cool stuff we got in HL2.

I didn't mind the voice-acting, although I still prefer the old voice.

 

[Narvi]

They couldn't have given the Vorts the cryptic dialogue in Half Life 2. It'd have made them less fun companions.

 

[leib10]

True, but I still found their dialogue distracting and annoying rather than interesting.

 

[Dr0ndeh]

Dear Jonathan,

Thanks very much for your comments, and for your thoughts on how you
think the episodic experiment is going. Rest assured, better and more
varied use of our voice actors is something we'll keep trying to
improve. It's great to hear you're having a good time with the Orange
Box.

Yours,
Marc Laidlaw

this was a reply i got from an email sent to gabe about my feelings on the over use of the same voice actors for the rebels etc.