The silent protagonist, hate em just simply dislike em it doesn’t mean I dislike the game for instance, I love half life and bioshock , but the characters really annoy me they are in really dangerous situations and don’t show emotion or anything to be honest making the story telling boring as hell because they just do what the supporting characters tell em to do might as well make the some kind of world saving robot built by a mad scientist.

Developers usually say it’s so the player can feel like his the character! Really? nop! Don’t feel like I am Gordon Fremon , wait… are they saying I am an empty shell ? :S hm.

But let’s face it its so much more complicated for the developer to give the character personality because some gamers will like it some will hate it etc …

I still say that for a good story telling exp. Empty shells won’t do.

i don't often like a silent hero, but sometimes it works. i mean even master chief spits out a few words every now and again which reminds me that there is still someone under that suit. that's why i like dante a lot because the guy just never shuts up

LoZ really isnt about playing Link, but playing his adventure

yes, it is good, unless is survival horror where everyone must talk

I enjoy silent protagonists. I don't like games that try to cram a story down your throat, or tell you what to think. Your character should be the straight man in a world gone mad, much like Link (who took Zelda's verbal abuse in the beginning of Spirit Tracks with hilarious aplomb), or any silent protagonist.

I liked the fact that the hero never spoke in Dragon Age!

it depends on the game!!!!!!!! either way is fine for me!!!!!

No matter how you look at it, Link has more 'immersion' than most characters in gaming.  Because after those few cutscenes are over, you are playing as Link and making all the direct action/choices for him.  It may be a pre-determined path, but you are allowed to venture off and explore that path how you wish.  The only way you can have more 'immersion' beyond that is to have multiple event paths for the story to go, based on the players choices in game.  And none of that requires voice acting.

In the end, it comes back the simple fact that voice acting draws some people into a game while its irrelevant to others and even alienates some.  In the end, Miyamoto has stated Link (as well as Mario and any other characters he creates) will never have full voice acting in cutscenes based on his bad experiences with such series as Star Fox and F-Zero.

Mute protagonists are neither good nor bad. There are excellent games both with and without. It's just one method for video game storytelling.

I feel the OP's dislike of HL2 has nothing to do with the mute protagonist. The game would have added little by having a chatty main character.

My dislike of HL2 has a lot to do with Gordon Freeman being mute, because I don't like the storytelling, and the storytelling is shaped by him being mute. One specific example is not really worth noticing though, as it is the general principle I am opposed to.