Review: Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Throat Communicator

So when Mad Catz first announced their officially licensed Modern Warfare 2 accessories my reaction was a resounding meh! The only accessory that I had any interest in was the Modern Warfare™ 2 Throat Communicator. I even mentioned it back in a September 10th story.

So with a substantial amount of EBGames gift card money available to me I went ahead and purchased one in time for the Herd of Cats Friday 13th Lan.

While I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't really wowed either.

Pluses:

• fit well around my neck
• cool looking
• others could hear me just fine
• I could usually hear others fine
• stayed out of the way (no mic floating in front of face)
• Modern Warfare 2 logo

Minuses:

• hurt neck over time
• earpiece not a perfect fit (and only one option)
• expensive at $39.99 CDN

The Mad Catz Throat Communicator is designed as a replacement for the Microsoft Wired Headset ($34.99 CDN) and at this it works well. It certainly looks less geeky tucked around your neck compared to the over the head Microsoft style. Although it is hard to find an Xbox 360 owner who doesn't have at least two of the MS wired headsets tucked away somewhere. I have at least three and I think they set up a breeding program in the back of my closet.

While I initially found the around the neck style comfortable it became more noticeable the longer I wore it. I expect this was due to the 6+ hour session (Friday 13th Lan) that I was wearing it. Presumably a longer length of time than a normal play session.

What I hadn't noticed until I put it on the next day was the bruises the communicator had caused on my neck. While not visible, donning the throat communicator was an uncomfortable experience a day later. I hesitate to use the word painful mind you but uncomfortable, yes. Again probably due to the 6+ hour wear session.

I have determined that the throat communicator does not cooperate well with my wireless headphones but I don't believe they were designed for that purpose. As a replacement to the standard Microsoft Headset they work well and they will probably be my preferred headset when I am using speakers.

I would have liked to see more volume range (louder), more adjustment on the neck fit and several different earpiece fittings. (The Halo Xbox headset came with multiple earbud fittings).

Note: I originally had some semi-negative comments about the Throat Communicator not working well with my Turtle Beach headset but I removed them as it was a specific instance unfair to Mad Catz. The Throat Communicator was not designed to work with headphones and it's unfair to review them as if they were.