The “actors” responsible for realizing Arc Rise’s world did an awful job, unable to portray emotions, and often not sounding at all how the characters look. Or rather, it could have been, if not for the relatively dire localization job undertaken by Marvelous Entertainment. Not the most compelling of RPGs, but inoffensive with a decent little story to tell. A truly tragic example for me is the Wii RPG Arc Rise Fantasia. To really put the power of voice acting into perspective, one must appreciate that, as much as a good cast can bring a story to life, a bad one can butcher it. The performances making that story breathe are what gives it an air of credibility that is missing from so many videogame narratives. Far Cry 3′s narrative is smartly executed and well-paced, but it’s nothing truly outstanding if taken at face value. All these characters would be nowhere near as effective if their actors were of the mediocre stock commonly found in the majority of videogames. Alec Earnhardt whose consistently stoned persona betrays hints of a tragic past. Then we have Buck, an abusive and vulgar Australian treasure hunter, and the drug-addled Dr. Far Cry 3′s big bad, Hoyt Volker, is one of the more detestable videogame villains to appear in recent memory, and the smug, slimy performance along with a distinctive South African accent make him impossible to forget. As such, he scenes in Far Cry 3 are a joy to watch, not just for his dark humor, but for the genuinely affable communication of it. Compared to so many other games, where stiff actors read stiff dialog with clear and surgical pauses between lines, Mando actually makes Vaas sound like a real human being. Mando delivers his lines throughout Far Cry 3′s campaign in a conversational, fevered tone, lending an air of human charisma to the dialog. However, without the stellar performance of Michael Mando, I don’t think Vaas would have been have as remarkable.
Sure, he’s got a unique look, and his diatribes on the definition of insanity have helped set trailers apart from the usual dubstep and guns that most shooters - Far Cry 3 included - have used in promotional material this year. There’s a reason why, in the build to Far Cry 3‘s release, the primary antagonist of Vaas has proven so memorable. I say it because, after seeing just how much a genuinely talented cast of actors can contribute to the effectiveness of a story, I really think it’s high time videogame developers considered investing more in the vocal chords that bring their characters to life. I say this not because Far Cry 3′s voice acting is bad - it is brilliant. If Far Cry 3 has taught me anything, it’s that we need far better voice actors in the videogame industry. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not reflect those of GameFront.) (This is another edition of /RANT, a weekly opinion piece column on GameFront.