Artist Drake to contribute Jace Stratton's voiceover in Gears of War 3

by: Tina - posted: 6/11/2010 9:36:00 PM

Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games are pretty proud of their latest voice casting decision: that of "rap" artist Drake who will play the voiceover role of Jace Stratton in the upcoming Gears of War 3. Epic Executive Producer Rod Fergusson believes that Drake is perfect for the role given his "combination of heart and grit." If you've heard one of Drake's more well known tracks, "Best I Ever Had," I'm not sure you would characterize his voice as having "grit." His music is more akin to RnB than it is rap or hip-hop, explaining my wonderment at this direction.

Either way, I'm still incredibly excited for Gears of War 3. Four player co-op for the win.

The fastest rising superstar in today’s hip-hop music scene is teaming up with Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games to lend his voice to the biggest blockbuster game of 2011, “Gears of War 3,” only on Xbox 360. Set to release his much-anticipated debut album, “Thank Me Later,” on June 15, Grammy-nominated recording artist Drake is voicing Jace Stratton, a new playable character in the upcoming finale to one of the most celebrated sagas in video games.

In the finale to one of gaming’s most recognizable sagas, Epic has added four player cooperative campaign gameplay, allowing them to bring characters from the extended “Gears” universe to life.

“Jace is a central character in the comic books, so he was an obvious choice as a character we wanted to bring into the third game,” said Epic Executive Producer Rod Fergusson. “When we began casting for the role, ‘So Far Gone’ had just released, and Drake’s combination of heart and grit was just what we were looking for. Rather than search for somebody who sounded like him, it was clear that we should approach him directly… fortunately he turned out to be a huge fan.”

“When Epic came to me with the role, I couldn’t pass it up,” said Drake. “They’ve created an amazing character in Jace, and I’m looking forward to my tour in Delta Squad.”

Developed by acclaimed studio Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios, “Gears of War 3” launches worldwide in April 2011, only on Xbox 360. The “Gears of War” series is one of the most popular franchises in Xbox history, having sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and spawning New York Times best-selling novels, an upcoming film and more.