Biff's Voice - Terrible - Takes Me Out Of Game

I downloaded the demo last night on the Playstation 3 and when the music started up I was seriously excited.

When Doc and Marty are talking at the mall for the time-travel experiment... it was awesome. It looks and sounds like it should...

I have not played a game like this... EVER! So, this is new to me...

But... and this is kind of huge... Biff's voice is TERRIBLE and takes me out of the game.

I mean, you get Christopher Lloyd and a spot-on Michael J. Fox impression... but Biff is terrible.

What was the issue with getting Thomas F. Wilson? Did he want too much money? Did he just not want to do it?

And while I am ranting... George McFly is terrible too.

Am I buying the game? YES... but it still sort of takes the enjoyment out of the game when these two huge characters from the movies... don't sound like they should.
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Comments

  • edited February 2011
    Tom Wilson doesn't want to associate himself with anything to do with BTTF anymore (I think he believes he will get typecasted), he won't even sign BTTF memorabilia. Also, there were many communication issues between TTG-Wilson's agent and Agent-Wilson. He even says TTG didn't contact him when they said they did.

    Gale and Crispin Glover are not in very good terms since BTTF I.
  • edited February 2011
    Well, that is a shame... oh well, I just have to suspend my belief and imagine that is what Biff sounds like...

    Thanks for the reply!
    BojTrek
  • edited February 2011
    Biff's voice does suck, he's better as Kid Tannen, but the current day version just doesn't suit that voice at all.
  • edited February 2011
    But George McFly is pretty well done too, so I'm a bit shocked that you didn't like him either!
  • edited February 2011
    There are times where Biff kinda sounds a bit like Christopher Walken
  • edited February 2011
    It gets worse in Episode 2...
  • edited February 2011
    I've enjoyed Episode 1 & Episode 2 but, I have to agree with everyone who's posted so far. I'm sure Biff's voice actor (can't remember the name right now) is a great voice actor BUT, he's not Biff. It really did take me out of the game. If there's any way for telltale to PLEASE get in contact with Tom Wilson, or find someone who sounds more like him, and re-record the lines for the DVD, that would make these games all the better.
  • edited February 2011
    Regarding getting Tom Wilson for the voice, I have read where he has stated that he was never contacted, yet Telltale stated something along the lines of that he wouldn't be able to do it. Purely my opinion, is that telltale contacted his agents, and his agents waved it off and said no but they did not actually tell him about it since he didn't even know a game was coming out. I believe there's some threads on this forum that states it, as well as he answers that question on his Youtube page in the comments that he was never contacted.

    But I agree, Biff's voice, both old and young, just throw me off. Geoge McFly's voice throws me off too, but not as bad as Biff's.
  • edited February 2011
    Yeah, I like the George McFly voice actor as well. I'm not asking actors to completely replicate the voice pitch perfectly but should mostly mimic the tone and mannerisms of the character. For this he gets an A

    The Biff voice actor... not so much. Just a bad casting call on this one, but I can live with it.
  • edited February 2011
    you sir, are not a real bttf-fan

    biffs voice is acceptable....
  • edited February 2011
    Carlos85G wrote: »
    Tom Wilson doesn't want to associate himself with anything to do with BTTF anymore (I think he believes he will get typecasted), he won't even sign BTTF memorabilia. Also, there were many communication issues between TTG-Wilson's agent and Agent-Wilson. He even says TTG didn't contact him when they said they did.

    Gale and Crispin Glover are not in very good terms since BTTF I.

    If the real excuse is that one (about being typecast) then its a very very lame excuse...

    He didn't do anything BTTF related for about 20 years now (last one was the animated series in 1991) So, again, really lame excuse.

    Typecast are guys like Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) or even worse, Sam Waterston (from the Law & Order series, playing the Jack McCoy character for 16 friggin years)
  • edited February 2011
    Sp1ke wrote: »
    If the real excuse is that one (about being typecast) then its a very very lame excuse...

    He didn't do anything BTTF related for about 20 years now (last one was the animated series in 1991)

    And yet, people STILL only want to talk to him about BTTF.
  • edited February 2011
    doggans wrote: »
    And yet, people STILL only want to talk to him about BTTF.

    But of course! Does he ever did something really big like BTTF in his career? I guess not.

    He's being over dramatic with this thing

    But I got to admit, The Question Song is very funny :D
  • edited February 2011
    I think Biff's voice is fine. The insultingly easy difficulty is a far more pressing concern imo.
  • edited February 2011
    Sp1ke wrote: »
    But of course! Does he ever did something really big like BTTF in his career? I guess not.

    He's being over dramatic with this thing

    But I got to admit, The Question Song is very funny :D

    Yeah, I just watched that for the first time today, haha. Its pretty funny.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6doN7IEgXc
  • edited February 2011
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y

    You're telling me THIS man was not avalible??? I guess it's because he's the hit of YouTube.

    *This was a joke, I'm bummed out he's not in the game just like you but I love this video so much.
  • edited February 2011
    Ash735 wrote: »
    Biff's voice does suck, he's better as Kid Tannen, but the current day version just doesn't suit that voice at all.

    Someone else voices Kid Tannen.
  • edited February 2011
    I think it would help if Biff's VA used a serious/bully voice when not sucking up to someone instead of always doing the goofy voice.
  • edited February 2011
    Someone else voices Kid Tannen.

    ..., ...., In that case Biff's voice is just bad, we know the voice actor can do much better!
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited February 2011
    You're all too hard on Andrew Chaikin. He does a great Wimpy Biff. He sounds very much like Biff did at the end of Back to the Future after George learned to stick up for himself. I thought he was great in It's About Time, even with the "butthead" line when he was rude to Marty, since that's the first time we ever heard Wimpy Biff be rude in any way. And honestly, after 30 years of acting wimpy, I'd imagine even when acting tough he'd still have a bit of the wimp in him.

    You're expecting him to sound like he did in the beginning of Back to the Future before Marty went back to the past, but he's not the same guy as he was then. He has two brothers who are tougher than him (they beat up George after George beat Biff up at the dance), so he still has a bit of the wimp in him, so his wimpy-tough voice makes sense here too.
  • edited February 2011
    Biff never was a whimp, he always faked it. Wasn't old Biff enough to prove it ?
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited February 2011
    Strayth wrote: »
    Biff never was a whimp, he always faked it. Wasn't old Biff enough to prove it ?
    He was never actually a wimp, but he was insecure enough to act like he was, and I think it's reasonable to think that the insecurity would show through in his voice when he acted tough with Marty in It's About Time and when he tried to act tough around his brothers in Get Tannen.

    Biff is only truly tough when he has someone to push around, which he got again by 2015 with his child Tiff and his grandson Griff.
  • edited February 2011
    He was treated like crap by his family in 2015. He just isn't the strongest anymore, that's why he fakes it. The second he has the opportunity to change things, his true nature just rise. And actually, having Biff wearing sportswear in the alternate 86 was a bad idea in my opinion. He has plenty of money. I don't know, it just doesn't match Biff. As fans, we do know there's nothing good deep inside of him, that should be took into consideration. The new voice just makes the ultimate cliché dumb villain. I don't know, Biff used to be somewhat scary ...
  • edited February 2011
    The voice isn't bad, just different from the films.
  • edited February 2011
    Jennifer wrote: »
    ......that's the first time we ever heard Wimpy Biff be rude in any way......

    Wrong. Are you forgetting the end of Back to the Future III after marty comes back to 1985 from 1885? Marty picks up the stuff off the hood of the truck, and not knowing it's Marty, Biff shouts something along the lines of "Hey, Butthead!!! Get away from--!!!"
  • edited February 2011
    Unfortunally, yes, the growl in non-wimpy Biff is gone. Biff is really menacing in both Alternate 1985 -just hearing "Kid, I OWN the police!" is enough to scare- and when calling Marty "chicken" in 1955. Even though Biff is powerful in Alternate 1986, he doesn't have the voice to back it up :(
  • edited February 2011
    Carlos85G wrote: »
    Unfortunally, yes, the growl in non-wimpy Biff is gone. Biff is really menacing in both Alternate 1985 -just hearing "Kid, I OWN the police!" is enough to scare- and when calling Marty "chicken" in 1955. Even though Biff is powerful in Alternate 1986, he doesn't have the voice to back it up :(

    In this case though, Biff probably isn't the top dog. He did still get laid out by George at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance, and his father and brothers probably reminded him of that.

    Honestly, the only times Biff seemed "scary" to me was the 1985-Biff-horiffic timeline and the 1955 tunnel chase. Especially that laugh right when he was almost caught up to Marty. I'll admit it'd be nice if the guy would lower his voice an octave and threw a little "gravel" into his performance when Biff is being a jerk, but those instances are so few and far between right now. I mean, the Citizen Brown 1986 Biff seems to be even wimpier.
  • edited February 2011
    Yeah the voices are ok,you can tell that Doc sounds older, marty sounds a lil high piched, biff sounds ok maybe a lil 2 nice in his voice haha. george and lorraine sounds cool! overall they work good!
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited February 2011
    Wrong. Are you forgetting the end of Back to the Future III after marty comes back to 1985 from 1885? Marty picks up the stuff off the hood of the truck, and not knowing it's Marty, Biff shouts something along the lines of "Hey, Butthead!!! Get away from--!!!"
    Oh, I did forget that line. I guess my reasoning would only fit in episode one if you consider the fact that Marty's dad is right there so Biff can't be full-on tough.
    Strayth wrote: »
    He was treated like crap by his family in 2015.
    I forgot about this one too! I guess old Biff would be tough in 2015 since he's the top dog over Marty and Marty Jr. rather than his kids as I previously wrote.

    But, honestly, even without the reasoning I personally think Andrew Chaikin's Biff is fine. :)
    Strayth wrote: »
    having Biff wearing sportswear in the alternate 86 was a bad idea in my opinion. He has plenty of money. I don't know, it just doesn't match Biff.
    I thought that was weird too. And that his brothers wore tracksuits too. I guess the Tannen gang owns some shares in a sportswear company. :D
  • edited February 2011
    Jennifer wrote: »
    I thought that was weird too. And that his brothers wore tracksuits too. I guess the Tannen gang owns some shares in a sportswear company. :D

    Easy. Beating the crap out of old people to get their "protection" money for the month works up a sweat. lol
  • edited February 2011
    I didn't know Biff and Kid weren't having the same voice actor.

    Then I have to admit, Biff's is just horrible and doesn't fit AT ALL.
  • edited February 2011
    Well personally I think we all should have been expecting this in regards to Biff. After all no one can replace Thomas Wilson in the role. If anything getting Lloyd and a spot on MJF soundalike for Doc/Marty gave some folks really high expectations.

    Besides if there's one thing folks should remember when it come to video game adaptions of big name movies/TV shows it's that the voice quality can be all over the map depending on if the actual actors did it, they got people that sound like the actors or if it's a combination of the two. Here's three PS2/X-Box era games that demonstrate this pretty well along with clips of the original works they were based off of for folks unfamilar with these series:

    Bad Boys: Miami Takedown
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExOmQP_O0t4
    This game in general was one that you either loved or hated. However it's far from the worst shooter in the world.....just not one of the best. That being said the script needed a ton of work and the actors sound nothing like Will Smith or Martin Lawrence.

    Original Actors from Bad Boys:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4pIJtt48g4
    One of the funniest scenes from the second film to showcase what the characters SHOULD have sounded like.

    Buffy TVS
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpcITuMZDKA
    Surprisingly decent game considering the track record of many licensed games. With the exception of Sarah Michelle Gellar the game had the whole main cast. However the next video should show it was a very decent replacement. It's not on the quality of AJ and his Marty but it ranks up there.

    Original Actress:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1v_q6TWAL4
    Fan trailer for the first season. As with the above it should give an idea of what the original actress sounded like for those of you unfamiliar with the series.

    24 The Game
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiulqBMrhWg
    Easily one of the best licensed games ever made. Has the original score/music from the show, was written by one of the writers from the series and voiced by the entire main cast.

    The Final Scene of 24
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz-M7iFLxUs
    Honestly if you never saw the series before and just let the audio run on this without looking at the video I don't think you could tell the difference between the game and the series.


    As I said before the voice work and quality of licensed game can be all over the map. BttF in this regard actually shows a little bit of all three of the above examples: you've got the replacement that is spot on and perfect (Marty/the Buffy example), you've got the original actor returning (Doc/the cast of 24) and you've got the guy that is so far off from the original that no matter how good of a job he/she does they will never be embraced by the fans (Biff/the Bad Boys example).

    To be honest however compairing Biff in this game to the actors in the Bad Boys game kinda isn't fair........at least the actor playing Biff has a decent script to work with. I don't think anything could save the voice actors in that Bad Boys game XD
  • edited March 2011
    Sp1ke wrote: »
    If the real excuse is that one (about being typecast) then its a very very lame excuse...

    He didn't do anything BTTF related for about 20 years now (last one was the animated series in 1991) So, again, really lame excuse.

    Typecast are guys like Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) or even worse, Sam Waterston (from the Law & Order series, playing the Jack McCoy character for 16 friggin years)

    The last one was the BTTF ride.
  • edited March 2011
    The last one was the BTTF ride.

    Which was released/opened on 1991.
  • edited March 2011
    I have to agree. I do think George McFly's voice is fine, but Biff's really sucks. The voice actor doesn't suck in general, he just... shouldn't have been cast as Biff Tannen.
  • edited March 2011
    I do voices, I have been trying to narrow down Biff's voice for years... That's the problem, his voice is unique... Sort of like a high barritone or something..
    Not to diss the guy doing his voice, but they could have done a lot better with the Biff Casting.
    Check out the voice
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epYSBicQUnM
  • edited March 2011
    I don't hate Biffs's voice, sure, they could have done a better job but when you're playing the game i don't think about it as much. Becuse his voice fits, even if it's not Tom Wilson, as Biff, and he kind of sounds like Biff sometimes. To me he sounds like The game Biff!
  • edited March 2011
    To be honest, I don't mind Biff's voice as much. Sure he's no Tom Wilson, but his voice still sounds like a villain's. There is a noticeable difference but at the same time, Telltale wasn't given a lot to work with. Tom Wilson wasn't going to voice Biff anyway. I think that, considering Tom Wilson's refusual to voice Biff, the game's voice works out fine.
  • edited March 2011
    I'm not all that bothered by Biff's voice, really. I mean, it would be fantastic to have Tom Wilson do it, but that didn't happen and they worked with what they had. If you don't really think about it too much while playing, it's not that bad at all.
  • edited March 2011
    Lorraine's voice sound just plain bad.
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