Gears of War 3 Gets You By The Throat

The Gears of War Throat Communicator is a neck-bound microphone and earpiece. What that means is that you strap it on your neck and the microphone, being pressed against your voice box, picks up everything you say. You can whisper and your squad mates hear you, although when playing with strangers this might result in some odd after-game messaging.

The sound quality through the mic seems to be about average for budget headsets but the fact that it’s a throat mic means that your less rambunctious communications are heard just as clearly as your enthusiastic shouts.

[drop2]There is a wire connecting you to the 360 controller, with a volume control for the earpiece and a mic mute switch. That earpiece comes with three different sizes of rubber bud so it should fit comfortably in most ears. The earpiece is connected to the neckband via a clear plastic, spiralled wire. It all looks very “CIA”, until you get to the neckband itself.

The Gears of War 3 styling, in red and black, is distinctive and not unattractive but it does make the whole look like a toy rather than serious audio equipment or even serious military equipment, which I guess would be a big appeal. The neckband is entirely black with a tiny area given over to the game’s branding. There is a little more branding on the in-line volume box but aside from two tiny logos, its relationship to the game is all about the colour choice.

With sound quality being roughly comparable to headsets at a similar price (£24.99 RRP in the UK), this communicator’s appeal may come down to other factors. Unfortunately, this is a massive problem for the Gears of War 3 Throat Communicator. The build quality on the neckband feels extremely flimsy and cheap. On top of that, it’s tiny.

The neckband does extend around a centimetre on both sides but that still makes it only large enough for those with slender necks. It certainly wasn’t comfortable to wear for me (I take a 17 inch collar in my shirts) and I can’t imagine it ever would have been. There is a kind of rubberised pad that you can stick to the inside of the band. This might have made it more comfortable but it would also decrease the circumference of the neckband by a few, precious millimetres.

Ultimately, sound quality is average and build quality is poor. I can’t imagine it fitting many of the people in the Gears of War 3 demographic (which I assume to be mostly men aged 18-34 as it’s an 18 certificate in the UK, rated M in the US) and, for the price, you can get a much better solution that is more comfortable, less fiddly and built from better quality materials.