When Sound Becomes Too Realistic

In some games recently, they have tried to make sound too realistic, often at the expense of me actually hearing what is being said. Right now playing through Arkham Asylum, often when Joker is on a screen you will have to be right near a loudspeaker to hear anything at all. When trying to just run around, which seems like the right thing to do considering that the screens are everywhere, I miss little snippets of dialogue because I don't stand still to watch a lame excuse for a cutscene. However if it would simply work while I ran ahead, it would be great, similar to Bioshock, when gameplay continues when story is told only through dialogue.


These audio diaries from Bishock allow gameplay and story to continue seamlessly, one way to not compromise either of them.

Another moment where this bothered me was in Uncharted 2. When your partner would talk to you, you had to be near them and facing them to have any chance at hearing what were often pretty humorous lines. Often when I was right next to them and standing the other way I would miss these exchanges almost entirely, and I only realised this when I turned the subtitles on.

So sound doesn't have to be ultra-realistic, especially when it is dialogue which often provides crucial backstory or is just plain hilarious. I don't care if I am not within 1 meter and perfectly facing the NPC, I just want to hear what they are saying!