Neither could make the dialogue not sound boring and cheesy.

Have we reached a point where we have to admit that it's the lines that are bad and not the actors?

-Disciple

Lines are bad, but I think its more the Audio Director. Some of this lines are just... UGH! Someone at Bungie said yes to what sounds like Nolan warming up. It also doesn't help that we went from a low to high. I can't help but hear 343 Guilty spark, but with worse delivery (in some spots).

They replaced him because they couldn't or wouldn't get him back for TTK. It seems much more likely that Dinklage was unabailable for other reasons (cost seems like a good bet), and rightly felt that it would be strange to have different voice actors playing the same character.

Everyone's been talking about how much "better" Nolan should be, but it seems evident that Bungie liked the Ghost as he was and didn't want to change things too drastically.

We've created this narrative than an outraged Bungie shooed an eager but disappointing Dinklage away, intending to rebuild and improve the entire character, when really they've just changed the voice a bit - just like they said they would.

If only he wasn't rubbing it in about Fiber in every post...

;p

I thought that was me? (My update downloaded in 10-15 minutes)

After hearing enough of these, it's definitely Bungie's fault. The reason it's clear is because a lot of the lines aren't just read differently, but come from a completely different character emotion. Lines that were fearful are now confused. Determined are now inquisitive. Etc.

Good writers know what their characters are thinking at any given time. Given their history and personality, here's how they react or act in a given situation. So the fact that these basic motivations don't seem to sync up tells me that internally they just don't have a solid grasp of the character at all.

I can definitely see that. I couldn't help but think, while listening to lines from both actors, that even I could have done a better job. I just chalked it up to ego, but maybe it's because I've played the game and I know the emotions that should be appropriate for each scene.

That said, there were definitely some lines that I don't think anyone could have delivered well.

-Disciple

After hearing enough of these, it's definitely Bungie's fault. The reason it's clear is because a lot of the lines aren't just read differently, but come from a completely different character emotion. Lines that were fearful are now confused. Determined are now inquisitive. Etc.

Good writers know what their characters are thinking at any given time. Given their history and personality, here's how they react or act in a given situation. So the fact that these basic motivations don't seem to sync up tells me that internally they just don't have a solid grasp of the character at all.

I think you've got it right here. They know they need this kind of companion character, but they don't know what they want him to be like. Maybe they just want him to be everything to everyone, so he ends up being anybody to no one.

I do like him better in general, but I think in the endearing moments, like "Don't do that," where Dinklebot came to life a little, I think I like Peter Dinklage. This is just judging from videos like the one you showed though.

I think the problem is that for most of the dialogue, the even, almost blasé delivery that Dinklage gave was at odds with the way the character was written, which was something like the worrywart that C-3P0 became when Anthony Daniels starting playing him (rather than the used car salesman that Lucas wrote him as.)

For most of the ordinary lines, North's performance-- and it's hard not to imagine that his instructions were basically "hey, make it sound like Guilty Spark, everybody loved him"-- seems more in keeping with the tone of the way things are written. He's always a bit worried but trying to sound optimistic.

The few times that Dinklage's delivery worked, which was in the two best cutscenes in the game, the ones introducing and closing out Venus-- North's does not work as well, IMO.

On the early Earth levels I think Nolan's interpretation has already won me over, mostly.

Good writers know what their characters are thinking at any given time. Given their history and personality, here's how they react or act in a given situation. So the fact that these basic motivations don't seem to sync up tells me that internally they just don't have a solid grasp of the character at all.

Have we reached a point where we have to admit that it's the lines that are bad and not the actors?

-Disciple