Poll: Which Commander Shepard has the better voice acting?

[Raika]

Mark Meer is one of this generation's worst voice actors, delivering every single line in a dull, lifeless monotone and raising his voice with all the authenticity of a kindergarten stage production of Robin Hood. He's saved from being the worst voice in the Mass Effect franchise only by the presence of an uncharacteristically hammy and subpar turn by Gwendoline Yeo in both games as Shiala and Sha'ira. What the hell happened to you, Gwen? You were so good in Final Fantasy X-2.

Jennifer Hale, on the other hand, is pretty much a shoe-in for the video game voice acting hall of fame. Every single thing she shoots for is a roaring success, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Mass Effect series, where regardless of Shepard's alignment, she is unquestionably believable.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

i prefer male shep all the way, idk how to exactly describe it, but i love the strength of his "military" voice and how he delivers it..some of the lines he has said in the mass effect games have given me massive shivers up and down my spine, while that has yet to happen once with female shep.

jennifer hale is amazing in all her other roles in other games, but i just really don't care for her in the shepherd role, it just doesn't..."fit"

 

[Arkley]

I found FemShep's delivery strained, monotonous and just uncomfortable. ManShep's "average joe" voice is likeable and believable for paragon options, and his deadpan-delivered renegade options are almost always perfect.

FemShep, on the other hand, has one voice, and it's an unnaturally, forced husky "bad ass chick" voice that sounds way too firm for the reasonable/calming/comforting lines that come from paragon options. Meanwhile, it sounds way too emotional & angry for the renegade options. Whereas ManShep's renegade voice comes across as though it might damage the Normandy with the sheer weight of all the shits it doesn't give, FemShep sounds all too often like a bullied young woman taking revenge and trying to force a badass veneer over it.

 

[Ziame]

Mark Meer all the way. His 'lack' of emotions (i wouldnt agree in 100%) is IMO far more natural coming from a fucking ELITE COMMANDER IN SPECIAL FORCES. Hale puts too much feelings in it. it aint romeo and juliet.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Jennifer Hale is a better voice actor, but I can't stand her voice in Mass Effect for some reason. So as far as ME is concerned, Mark wins. But other than that he's not a very good voice actor. He sounds kinda flat and unconvincing at times.

 

[CD-R]

The general consensus seems to be Mark Meer does a better job as a renegade Shepard whereas Jennifer Hale does a better job as Paragon shepard.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Jennifer Hale is the best paragon, Mark Meer is the best renegade. His deadpan delivery makes some of the renegade comments infinitely more badass.

I am going to have to go with this in the end.

My main FemShep is a redheaded, green eyed Paragon of the Galaxy with minor Renegade choices thrown in during cutscene's. My first male Shepard is the same, but I far more enjoy my mirror Renegade version of him for the "to the point" dry sarcasm and snideness his voice actor manages to envoke for those particular dialogue options.

That said, Jennifer Hale isn't bad at Renegade dialogue.. she just doesn't have the same deadpan delivery as Mark Meer (however, his issue is that he is deadpan a lot of the time without even seeming to realize it, which makes female Paragon so much more real).

 

[Bomberman4000]

In the multiple play throughs of both ME1 and 2 and playing as both male and female Shepards I found myself enjoying Jennifer Hale's performance more. I can't put my finger on exactly why or what made one more enjoyable to me than the other (both are good in their own rights as has been said before) but I just prefer Hale over Meer.


So yeah, I voted for Jennifer Hale.

 

[Stainlesssteele4]

I just hate the male Shepard. Its not his quality of voice acting, which is Bioware level great, its just him. He's just such an asshole, even if you pick the "good" lines. It just bugs me. I'm one for silent protagonists, because I fill in the lines with my own voice reading them in my head. I want the character to be me, a vessel in which I carry out actions, learn information, and interact with others, and nothing is more of a disconnect than a voice actor you don't like.

 

[Riddle78]

I exclusively played BroShep,but I saw plenty of videos of FemShep dialogue. And,to be honest,Hale does a better performance. In both games,her performances felt more believable.

 

[Vuljatar]

Jennifer Hale is overall superior by far, but Mark Meer comes close in the renegade options.

 

[Dr. Paine]

Femshep. I have to admit, I really do find Meer's voice annoyingly flat, it's just not something I can listen to for an entire game. I actually had similar issues with Kaiden, Liara and Jacob, they all just had something... off and unpleasant. Liara was interesting enough otherwise to not suffer too much for it, but it was the final nail for the other two and I almost never used them.

And while Hale does have some narmy/poor moments, overall, I absolutely adore how she portrays Shepard, and nine times out of ten I get just the right emotion I'm hoping to hear from a line.

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

I prefer real Shepards voice.
Male Shepard sounds like he knows how to handle himself. He knows he could ruin your entire day if he had to so does not need to try threatening people.
Female Shepard sounds like a Legacy of Kain reject. Every line with her is done in high drama. And she sounds like a little girl trying to sound tough to bluff her way out of a fight. And really, people just don't talk the way she does. It would be cool in a fantasy game but in Mass Effect its just so forced and out of place.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I hated the FemShep's voice. I restarted as a male halfway through Eden Prime I hated her voice so much.

 

[Korten12]

Every line with her is done in high drama. And she sounds like a little girl trying to sound tough to bluff her way out of a fight. And really, people just don't talk the way she does.

I was literally just about to type that. Hale comes off as a little girl who has been told to deepen her voice and for me it comes out really awkward.

 

[Shavon513]

Mark Meer does a variety of voices for the series, and really can voice act, but he makes male Shepard sound like a robot. I voted for Jennifer Hale, because she is just more talented, all around. She gives Shepard a personality, and has done many different roles quite well.

 

[kouriichi]

Ive really only played as Male Shep. Until i beat the game AS fem-shep, i dont feel i truly have the right to comment on, "Which is better" x:

But from what ive heard, i do feel more attune with male shep. He feels more canon, and the scripting ((from what ive heard on both genders)) seems to fit him better.

 

[w9496]

Mark Meer.

I found Female Shepard to be constantly boring. Every line is spoken in the same tone, no matter what is said.

 

[FangShadow]

This one is always a difficult one for me.

In ME1, Meer was good, but sounded off to me sometimes, like he lacked conviction. Hale certainly didn't lack for conviction and her more comedic lines were better than Meer's, so I give her the better overall. However, renegade line were a point in Meer's favor.

In ME2, both improved a bit, but Meer is still the better sounding renegade character. Hale still has better overall, but sometimes she did come off as a bit too harsh.

....I think I give it to Hale overall for both games, as she is a bit more interesting to listen to, but I love both her and Meer's work on the series.

 

[Noble_Lance]

I've only played as MaleShep and watched videos of FemShep.

In basic straight up voice acting Hale is better overall, but I prefer Meer. Despite his depiction of the character in the pseudo-deadpan part of me feels that was the point. When designers make the choice to have a silent character its usually to give the players a voice in their heads. I'd like to think that the deadpan is voice acting variant of that, by delivering his words in a specific way, perhaps its a voice acting way of allowing us to give the words our own meaning. I mean would anyone really have read the entire Bioware/Mass Effect text on screen given how much is there in dialogue.