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Here’s Our Favourite Performances From Video Games

Alex Walker Avatar
Alex Walker

If you’re in an office or have access to the internet and any form of social media, you’ll probably be aware that the Oscars are being held today. Some of the major awards have already been handed out, but there’ll be all sorts of shenanigans and events throughout the day.

I’ve got no interest in the awards themselves, but it is a useful opportunity to go back and remember some of the best performances from video games. So to commemorate one of Hollywood’s night of nights, here’s some of the performances in games that stayed with us long after the credits rolled.

[credit provider=”shutterstock”]

Danny Allen, Kotaku publisher

Batman: Arkham Series


We’re talking Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Batman: Arkham City (2011) and Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Kevin Conroy, from Batman: pretty-much-everything-besides-the-movies, is more caped crusader than Bale — and Mark Hamill’s Joker easily goes head-to-head with Heath Ledger in the annals of all-time Gotham highlights. Also: Australia’s own John Noble as Scarecrow. “Why fight it, Batman? You’re as crazy as the rest of us.”

Spandas Lui, Lifehacker journalist

The Priest, Age of Empires


It has been decades since Age Of Empires gave us the powerful chant of “Wololo” to convert enemy units into friendlies. This enduring chant has been used to hilarious effect at numerous piss ups, spawned countless ridiculous remixes and has become an internet meme in its own right.

The AOE Priest deserves to be recognised for his work in enriching the lives of gamers by giving us an exclamation that is appropriate for any situation. In honour of the Priest, I’m currently investigating options to make my car horn scream “Wololo” at unsuspecting drivers and pedestrians.

Campbell Simpson, Gizmodo journalist

Mark Hamill as Maverick Blair, Wing Commander 3

If you ask me, WC4 is the better game in the series, but the full-motion video performance in Wing Commander 3 is amazing — it stars Mark Hamill and John Rhys-Davies, for god’s sake.

It was probably the best performance in terms of world-building that my six-year-old brain at the time had ever seen; seeing real actors and live action video gave the game — which was super low-tech, obviously — a real sense of life and grounding in reality.

And, of course, it inspired the Wing Commander movie. Which everyone loves. Which. Everyone. Loves.

Chris Jager, Lifehacker Editor

Charlie Jolson, The Getaway


The original Getaway wasn’t a great game by any stretch of the imagination — but it did have one of the best cockney villains this side of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels. Voiced by the appropriately named Ricky Hards, Bethnal Green Mob boss Charlie Jolson was a truly terrifying protagonist: a cigar-chomping sadist who looked like a leathery version of Ben Grimm/The Thing. Hards’ stellar voice work coupled with Sony’s cutting-edge motion-capture technology helped to make Jolson a step above most video game villains. He also goes down in style; electing to blow himself up on a boat along with all of his enemies.

Alex Walker, Kotaku journalist

Christopher Walken as Detective Vince Magnotta, The Ripper

FMV games from the 1990’s are rightly remembered for being a travesty. But Walken saved a lot of games that he appeared in — he made scenes more watchable, made them funny, provided gravitas when it was sorely needed.

Walken’s career in video games isn’t extensive: he only contributed to two True Crime games, the sequel to Privateer, a spin-off of the Wing Commander series, and The Ripper. But his performance in The Ripper more or less made the game from start to finish. He’s a psychopathic, bounty-driven cop who completely dominates every scene he’s in with his maniacal laugh and over-the-top delivery.

It’s my favourite performance from anything in FMV, just because it’s so funny. The game itself, like all FMV adventures, has plenty of problems. But Walken does a good job of saving it from being a completely woeful experience.

Hayley Williams, Allure Media editorial assistant

Cissy Kones as Delilah, Firewatch


In a game that’s essentially a walking simulator centred around the conversations you have, employing good voice actors is obviously going to be key to your game’s success. While some of the lines sound highly scripted, Cissy still nails the role of Delilah from the beginning, when her voice coming through the radio is the first real human contact you get. She strings you along, gets you attached and then most likely breaks your heart. Just take a look at how many of the posts on the Firewatch subreddit are along the lines of “I miss Delilah”. Me too, random redditor, me too.

Hayley also had a second nomination, which goes to:

Jennifer Hale as Shepard, Mass Effect


One of the most enduring arguments in the Mass Effect fandom is whether male Shepard or female Shepard is the true Shepard. While male Shep was used for much of the marketing material, a lot of people preferred the voice performance of the female character. Whether you played renegade or paragon, her voice seemed to fit the tough military character to a tee. With a performance like Jennifer Hale’s, there really shouldn’t be any argument. Fem Shep is best Shep.

Mark Serrels, Kotaku editor

Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves


I’ve always felt like the Uncharted series features the very best writing that video games has to offer in terms of dialogue and characterisation. Nathan Drake has always struck me as a bit of a proxy but characters like Sully or Katherine Marlowe? Unlike most video game characters they feel real, and the performances reflect that.

But my all-time favourite Uncharted performance is probably Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer. The scene that leaps out at me takes place early on, when Chloe attempts (successfully) to seduce Nathan Drake. It’s just slick, fun and above all authentic.

What are your favourite performances from video games, whether it be an on-camera effort, something brought to life via motion-capture or L.A. Noire-style technology, or simply a voice acting role?

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