So I picked up a three-pack of the Mass Effect games a few months ago and then haven't played them because I forgot about them, but I just started playing the first one more in the past few days.
And I have to say, it has Skyrim beat in some ways.
For example, the voice acting. In Skyrim, something that is really ruining my immersion in the game is the fact that everyone has the same voice. So you'll talk to a Nord in one town, then go to the other side of Skyrim and talk to another Nord with the exact same voice, but different people. It's not realistic, and it feels really half-assed. There have even been occasions where someone's voice changes halfway through your conversation with them, which is pretty messed up. It feels lazy, and it throws me out of feeling invested in the game each time.
In Mass Effect (and the other Dragon Age games I've played), everyone you have the opportunity to talk to has their own voice. It makes it easier to stay immersed in the story when you aren't left wondering why everyone has the exact same voice. So, Mass Effect wins this battle.
Mass Effect also has a much more realistic take on racial diversity. I mean, it's subtle and it's not something I noticed immediately, but where there are humans, there are humans of all stripes and colours and accents. Which is awesome. I mean, if humans do discover space travel and start colonizing the outer reaches of the many galaxies, it isn't realistic for every single person out there in space to be white Americans. You're going to have people from all over out there.
I mean, also probably it would be because racism goes away when there are all those weird aliens to hate instead, knowing human nature, but still.
It's very frustrating when the same person voices several characters. It's one thing in some cartoons on tv where at least they change their voice depending on the character (like in Simpsons, a lot of the actors voice more than one char). I can definitely see how it would make the game play a lot less immersive.
ReplyDeleteFunny note about voices though.. I was baby sitting my nephew today and we were watching Disney Channel. There was a behind the scenes/making of Monsters University type thing where some guy went to visit the studio. The entire thing was dubbed by one actor. So he was dubbing the main guy, as well as every single person he interviewed. Basically making it sound as if he was interviewing himself. Then if they were laughing they'd put the two laugh tracks over each other, and you'd hear this one guy laughing with himself!
He even voiced the women that was interviewed. Seriously, could they not had added another person or two to the list?
Maybe there aren't many people who dub things into Swedish?
Delete... I doubt that's what it is, it's probably more laziness, but I'm trying to be positive.
Completely random, but in case you don't have an Elder Scrolls beta key yet, there's a giveaway at Curse atm. There's a beta weekend this weekend, so if you can get one, you could get to try it already on Friday :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.curse.com/betas
I had tried to sign up for the Elder Scrolls beta, but it wouldn't let me before. :(
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