Sam's Voice Acting

ElusiveSpoon

Sam's voice acting has been bugging me for a while and I wanted to see how everyone else felt. Now it's not the voice I have a problem with. I can accept it as Sam's voice, despite a preference for the Hit the Road voice. The problem is the acting. Everything Sam says, whether he's exited, shocked, concerned, or otherwise, is said in the same flat, indifferent way. It doesn't even sound like David Nowlin is acting, but just reading his lines. I find this odd as he was quite expressive as Fone Bone, and I know he can do the same in Sam's voice, as he did say one line in Ep 3 with excitement (but only one line). For a game where dialog is so important, this half-hearted performance really detracts from the immersion, and can ruin a lot of the humor.

Another thing that isn't helping is that Sam's voice is also a bit quiter than everything else. In one scene in Ep 3 where Max's voice was too loud, I had to turn up the volume to cleary hear Sam. If I get bored and have some free time I might record some samples that really show what I'm talking about.

Mother Superior

I think it's a very well acted voice, the fact that he's pretty much deadpan about almost everything (it's not flat and empty, I disagree completely with you there, but it is deadpan for the most part) I think is very suiting for what is essentially a caricature/parody of a film noir 50s detective, and also very funny.

JK1985

I like Davids acting and I think it has improved during the season. But yes sometimes it's difficult to hear what he says (he is to quite).

GozzoMan

Mmmh, English is not my mother language, so my "ear" for it is far from perfect... but I like very much Sam's voice, and I really agree with Mother Superior that his deadpan tone is very suiting for the character.

csmithrd

I think Sam's voice is perfect for the character, he pulls off the deadpan jokes perfectly.

Haggis

I didn't quite like his voice when I first heard it, but I do think he's getting better every episode. I wouldn't want him replaced now, I've grown fond of the guy.

peoples

I like Max voice the best, Sam & Bosco close there too, Jimmy Two-Teeth ain't too bad either. But Sybil's voice tends to zhh, with the s's, due the voice compression. Overall I really like the voiceacting in this whole series so far. Toy-Mafia was pure fun

Ming Lo

I understand why you feel that way. There IS not really any indication in his voice about how he feels, and if you like expression through voice, i can see the problem. However i think that the voice suits the character and his personality great. He IS always calm, and so is his voice.

maximmortal

Yeah, I think Sam's voice is supposed to be nonchalant. It's just the way he is. I like it.

fajerkaos

I too think that this voise suits his character well... Much better then the guy from the cartoon serie. (havn't played HtR talkie)

AdamG

I think Sam's voice is perfect! I like the "flat", indifferent voice acting. It's one of the things that makes the acting perfect for the part. It makes it seem like all of Max's antics and the things they go through are supposed to be normal, which makes it even funnier.
My Dad was watching the Xplay review of Sam and Max with me and he laughed his butt off when Sam was in Bosco's store and said "All of this rampant weenie canabalism turns my stomach."

AdamG

Actually, I think all the voice acting is just right!

Rasher

I think the actor who plays Sam is doing a fine job. The voice acting seems to get better with each episode. I prefer the voice actor from Hit the Road, but that's just because he had a deeper voice.

I love it when Sam says " You crack me up little buddy". Cracks me up.

BarfHappy

Usualy the "Holy *** " lines bug me, they are said too fast for the character imo. But otherwise, i think the impersonation is great.

Diduz

I really like Nowlin's delivery. I agree with AdamG, Sam's serious and detached tone when they're facing the most nonsensical things is hilarious.

Lunatik

So far I am very delighted by the voice acting in this series. I particularly enjoy Sam, Max and Sybil. They're great!

My only complaint is the audio compression used for the voices. I understand it's necessary, but I wouldn't mind a larger download...

ReverendTed

Lunatik wrote: »

My only complaint is the audio compression used for the voices. I understand it's necessary, but I wouldn't mind a larger download...

I hadn't noticed this so much in earlier episodes, but it really came through on Sybill's voice in Ep 3. Lots of lisp-like hissing.

Johnny Walker

ElusiveSpoon wrote: »

Sam's voice acting has been bugging me for a while and I wanted to see how everyone else felt. Now it's not the voice I have a problem with. I can accept it as Sam's voice, despite a preference for the Hit the Road voice. The problem is the acting. Everything Sam says, whether he's exited, shocked, concerned, or otherwise, is said in the same flat, indifferent way. It doesn't even sound like David Nowlin is acting, but just reading his lines. I find this odd as he was quite expressive as Fone Bone, and I know he can do the same in Sam's voice, as he did say one line in Ep 3 with excitement (but only one line). For a game where dialog is so important, this half-hearted performance really detracts from the immersion, and can ruin a lot of the humor.

Agreed, although I usually ignore it and still have fun with the episode. I think ep2 was the worst, and it took me a while to adjust during ep1, but by the end of it I'd just accepted it. I think by now I've gotten used to his acting... which is more than I can say for Thorn's new voice............! (But that's a different story.)

Another thing that isn't helping is that Sam's voice is also a bit quiter than everything else. In one scene in Ep 3 where Max's voice was too loud, I had to turn up the volume to cleary hear Sam. If I get bored and have some free time I might record some samples that really show what I'm talking about.

Agreed.

Silly Bob

DO me a favour, go watch afew episodes of Dragnet (and not that Tom Hanks crap, or the Ed O'Neill version, though it was good) and you'll understand why it's fitting for Sam to speak like this. Or even watch Get Smart, I've always been able to see alot of Maxwell Smart in Sam, I don't know why.