Constructing A Competitive Team

Hey guys, Ghostatsuke here. Well Conduit 2 is coming out soon and many of you either already have your own teams, or your planning on starting one. With the playlists and all the other new features competition is sure to be fierce so I'm here to help you guys out with constructing a good team.

Understand there are many factors to look for and consider when putting together a team or as many of you may know it a clan. Gathering people is truthfully only part of the job and it can't just be anyone. You have to be able to work with these people you choose, and play off each others strengths and weaknesses. Here are the main things to think about:

Size - This is the start to all your success and all your complications as a team. Size is a major thing to think about. When creating a team, having the most people doesn't mean having the best chance of winning. A standard professional team in a league such as MLG or ECL (Major League Gaming + European Console League) is standardly 4 players large with the option of a team coach. Note that a majority of professional game types are played as a 4v4 setup. Nonetheless a team is not limited to so few players. Your welcome to have as many as you so wish but remember you will need to manage all of these people and give them a fair and equal amount of game time. So in all technicalities, the fewer people the better and the easier it is to work with.

Compatability - Think for a moment, you play games with plenty of people every day. How many of them can play the way you do?. Are they friends? Or are they just cool people you get along and play games with? Consider this cause everyone plays a different way. You want it to be balanced but you always want the play styles to compliment one another not conflict each other. As a team you have to be able to work together and persevere through some tough spots in matches. You all want to be able to get along and not be constantly arguing or having any bad blood. A team that plays well together, wins together.

Communication? - Communication is absolutely key in a team. It's one of the single most important thing you will need in order to move forward. How well you can communicate will almost directly determine how well you will do in a game. If you have a lone wolf in the group it's going to hurt your team since they may not be as much a team player as you and everyone else. When considering a free agent see how they play the game , and what tactics they use to communicate something, such as a weapon respawning or a location of another teammate that needs help. Remember that using callouts is BIG, so try and integrate it somewhere in a manner that everyone can pick it up and use it

to boost the communication level of the team overall. Every little push can make a difference.

Teamwork- Lastly, the most major thing is teamwork. This is where it all comes down to one thing; Can you all play as a team? Can you work together to setup a game winning push against the other team. Can you all communicate and play off of each others unique styles to shut down your competition. Are you all able to switch roles whenever needed and play either passively or aggressively when the time comes. This element ultimately relies on your teammates and should never be overlooked.

Well guys, that covers setting up the proper team. I hope this helps and pushes not just you but all your teams to an all new level and carry you farther than before. I'll be looking forward to seeing you all in competition when Conduit 2 drops in Q1 2011. If you have any questions just leave a comment below.

PDP Headbanger Headset Review

Hey people, well today I finally got my hands on the PDP Headbanger Headset for the Nintendo Wii and I'm here to review it for you guys today. The Headset is partly due to PDP's Headbanger Audio and is a very welcome edition to the Wi's peripherals. This device will be reviewed based on the categories of Design, Performance, and above all Value.

Design: The PDP Headbanger Headset comes in two colors. White, which is the color of the default headset, and black, which is the limited edition version for the upcoming Call of Duty Black Ops. Overall the headset looks very nice. It features a 10ft cord and a beautiful aesthetic design that matches whichever Wii version you get. The black however contains the Call of Duty logo on it for an added custom feel.

The ear clip on the mic is very comfortable however, it doesn't place a secure clip onto your ear so severe head movement will cause it to move about a little. Also, the mic itself cannot be bent but is adjustable to move higher or lower in order to divert usage when needed. Also there is a control piece for the volume output from the headset and the main button for the mute function is also where the logo piece is. The headset connects via USB and is also compatible with PC/Mac computers.

Performance: This headset features a noise canceling microphone, I stearo level speaker and the sound quality truthfully is off the charts. Once you manage to get the device comfortably on your ear and start chatting with people you can see that the quality is clear and it almost feels as if the person is there. The speaker while it's sound is relatively good, It's not too loud and its not flawless in terms of feedback. At times you'll get the occasional static like feedback but that's far from often.

Again I used this on Skype on found near perfect quality. All my friends could hear me perfectly and vise versa. Due to the noise canceling mic your voice comes through beautifully which will be huge for gaming when Black Ops hits store shelves this coming Tuesday. I'll have more info on the in game performance once I pick up the game. However from whit I've done the Headbanger Headset is a competitor much above Nintendo's own WiiSpeak.

Value: The Headbanger Headset has a stronger market value against that of the WiiSpeak peripheral. With this headset you have more private gaming session ability with better quality for roughly the same price. It also features a strong lasting appeal as Black Ops is not the only game to feature this device. For a decent price of $24.99 you can't turn down such a rewarding offer.

The headbanger is a device among Wii items that gamers have been craving. Now that it's here it is looking to push online gaming on the Wii to new heights and is definitely an item to pick up if you're a competitive gamer.

Final Verdict: 9.7 OUTSTANDING