Reviews: Headsets with Microphones

Most online games, be it First Person Shooter games (a.k.a FPS, such as Doom 3, Half Life 2, etc.), Real Time Strategy games (a.k.a RTS, such as Warcraft III, Command & Conquer Generals, etc.) or Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (a.k.a MMORPG such as World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Everquest 2, etc.) can be played using the chat function. In other words, you can send short messages to the other players or to your team-mates.

However, when things get serious and you find yourself spending more and more time with the same players, tactics and strategy become a necessary part of the experience.

Software such as XFire, TeamSpeak and Roger Wilco, or the functions built into Steam or Gamespy, for example, can come in very handy. These allow you to speak to other players over the Internet. All you have to do is agree to meet on one particular channel and the team can then communicate without having to type messages in the chatbox.

Not only will it save you time, but you'll also have your hands free, both of which is useful in FPS, RTS and MMORPG worlds.

In order to do this, you'll need some a good-quality headset with reliable sound and a decent microphone. You may have heard that headsets with microphones aren't as good as simple stereo headsets, so we will be sure to check out just how true this theory really is. Bear in mind that, most of the time, manufacturers with a long history of making audio products will win with flying colours in this field. Sennheiser products never seem to disappoint.