Plantronics GameCom Halo 2 Headset: My current obsession is this remarkable piece of plastic, which is as bendable and durable as Gumby. Since I travel a lot, I usually bring an Xbox and a headset with me on the road for late-night hotel room gaming, and I've probably broken more of the standard headsets than anyone on earth. Thankfully, this headset is nearly impossible to break, as all of its components are encased in flexible plastic, allowing you to toss it in the bottom of your bag and forget about it. The sound quality is surprisingly good, too, as the earphone plugs directly into your ear. I've heard that people have had problems with, er, "waxy buildup" on the earpiece, but this has (thankfully) never happened to me.

Nyko Wireless Headset for Xbox Live: Although this peripheral isn't out just yet, we've had a chance to check it out a bit, and it looks like Nyko has another Live hit on its hands. While it doesn't feel quite as sturdy as Logitech's model, it's just as comfortable, and with an earpiece that plugs directly into your ear, it offers much better audio quality. Since we were playing with a prototype, it's hard to say what works and what doesn't, but there seems to be a bit of an issue with the microphone. When playing Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow, my computer-controlled teammates couldn't always hear my voice commands. Still, this will probably end up being our wireless headset of choice when it releases sometime in the next few months.

One of the best things about Halo 2 was the release of the excellent Plantronics GameCom headset.

Microsoft Wireless-G Adapter: While you can use just about any wireless adapter for hooking your Xbox up to your wireless network, none are as easy to setup or as reliable as this branded unit. All I had to do was open the box, plug in the adapter, run a short ethernet cable to the Xbox, and perform a quick set-up with the necessary information. I was most impressed, however, by the lack of lag that I experienced. I've used other wireless adapters for gaming, but none of them were as consistently fast as this bad boy. It also supports both 802.11b and 802.11g protocols, ensuring that you'll be able to use with just about any wireless router. At over $100, it's certainly not cheap, but it's worth the money if you spend a lot of time on Live.

Although many Xbox Live gamers are happy with the standard headset and peripherals, it's good to know that there are other options out there. Granted, you'll probably end up spending a bit more money, but it's worth it if you spend a lot of your gaming time on Live. If you're sick and tired of dealing with tangled wires, poor sound quality, or broken headsets, you owe it to yourself to shop around for some of these excellent accessories.

[My So-Called Live is written by Will Tuttle, who loves to live life without wires.]

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