Introducing Our Own Morgan Freeman


Morgan Freeman has no time to narrate video games, he's too busy with that damn headache!
Morgan Freeman is a great actor, a man who has spent over four decades developing his craft. With a unique voice and look, Morgan Freeman has managed to find himself cast in some of the best movies of the last few years, including a few that managed to get the attention of critics and awards shows alike. But even with all of these great roles in outstanding movies, Morgan is known for one thing and one thing only - as a narrator. Even if it's only sub-conscious, when you hear his distinctive voice talking over a movie it just feels right ... which is why he's asked to be the narrator so often. Does the video game industry have somebody who is a perfect fit as a narrator? And if it does, who would it be?


Say hello to Leonard Nimoy ... the video game industry's favorite narrator! (Yeah, I know he's not waving, nerd)
Of course we do, and his name is Leonard Nimoy. That's right, Spock is our Morgan Freeman! Now just because I can't see you reading this article doesn't mean that I don't know what you're thinking, and you're just a little surprised that I'm comparing Leonard Nimoy with Morgan Freeman. You're wondering why I didn't pick William Shatner or even that bald chick from the first Star Trek movie. But it's hard to argue, Leonard Nimoy is our Morgan Freeman ... so you better get used to it!

Although Morgan Freeman has narrated very few movies when you look at his entire career, he still has a funny way of always being memorable as the guy who explains what is going on. Perhaps it's because most of his best roles have him not only playing

This is not Morgan Freeman. It's not Leonard Nimoy. It's really just a picture of Civ IV!
somebody on screen, but also narrating it at the beginning and at the end. You need not look much further than Million Dollar Baby or the Shawshank Redemption to see an example of his powerful narration. Heck, this year alone he managed to narrate both the Steven Spielberg remake of the War of the Worlds and the most popular documentary of the year, the March of the Penguins. This is a role he is comfortable in, which may explain why he's pegged to do PBS docs, public service announcements, and every other form of narration you can think of.

Leonard Nimoy has a similar track record when it comes to games. Although he hasn't been in all that many games, the ones he has been in have often had his powerful voice narrating the story. This year we see him take this role yet again in the much-anticipated sequel, Civilization IV on the PC. But even before he hooked up with Sid Meier and company he was talking over other games, including Seaman on the

If anything it's good to keep him narrating video games just so he doesn't release another record!
Dreamcast (and PlayStation 2). There's no doubt about it, when you're looking for a strong narrator you can't go wrong with Leonard Nimoy.

But is this really the right thing to be doing? Weren't we asking Michael Madsen to stop reprising similar roles in every game he acts in? Sure ... but for some odd reason I don't mind hearing Spock's soothing voice. Like Morgan Freeman, when you hear Leonard's voice pipe through your speakers it just feels right, it feels extremely natural. And it's not

Tell me this is not the face of the best damn video game narrator on the planet?
like these game companies are pulling him from his exciting movie career; outside a couple of poorly receieved cartoons, the sometimes-Frank Force hasn't had much luck getting his mug on the silver screen. Heck, his last major movie role was in the 1998 movie Armageddon: Project Earth ... where he was the narrator!

This is a guy who shouldn't be stuck living his twilight years attending Star Trek conventions, it's time for all of these major game companies to realize what some of us have been

saying all along: Leonard Nimoy is the man you want to narrate your video game. Leonard Nimoy is our Morgan Freeman. So all of you men and women that watch over the video game casting couch, don't let the wrinkles fool you. This is a man who can sell you just about anything, regardless of whether you need it or not ... this is one Vulcan who deserves to be recognized as our official narrator. If there comes a time when Morgan Freeman comes crawling to our video game industry begging to throw his narrating chops at a few big titles, I say show him the door, we have our own Morgan Freeman and his name is Leonard Nimoy!