|
|
|
|
 |
iGames Magazine Article Summer 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Whether you are a member of an online gaming clan or just want to start up a point of contact
and communication for gamers that you play online with, this is the place. Signing up was quite
easy: you are asked basic questions, then choose billing options (all major credit cards and
PayPal accepted), pop in an admin password and you can start working on your site. I noticed
the support options first, which are easy to find; there is a forum plus several points of
contact at your fingertips.
The many features of the template make it easy to use and everything navigates quite well.
In just a few minutes I had set up a multi-player Halo 2 event on the calendar, and added
new topics in both the discussion and events forums.
With communication being the biggest factor in getting people together on line, you have many options to
choose from. There is a large discussion board, user mail with an address book for members, news, and the
event calendar. All events get posted to the event calendar and load whenever the site is visited so that
members and visitors are able to see what is going on as soon as they log in. Navigation was easy with the
"Awesome" toolbar at the top of the page that stays with you all the way.
Once I had started setting things up and testing the layout in order to find information, I had no trouble
at all. The Halo 2 event that I set up with 10 participants and 4 people to warm the bench on standby was
there immediately. When I opened it to see the details, everything was right there, including buttons for
me to choose if I (as a member) wanted to participate in the event in either role. This used to be a pain
for members to communicate back and forth for events, but with this site it is right here, including who
has already accepted.
The thing that impressed me the most was the site statistics page. On this page you get some great "Top25"
information that is up front and in your face. You can even expand the number and view more detailed information
for the topics getting hit, the last users that signed in, postings, etc. This makes it really easy to find your
team players and let the slackers stand out like a sore thumb.
I compared this site to other clan sites and noticed right away that one thing that was on Clantoolz.com was the
flashy "we sold ourselves out" advertising and pop-ups. In addition, the other sites seemed harder to navigate for
the novice and went into a ton of details for something that should only require basic operation.
The many features, support and easy layout make this website for clans a winner. At only $10.00 a month, you
should have no trouble getting other members in your group to pony up such a small amount of pesos. A +
By Michael "El Whappo" Gruich, Gamerz Island
 Go to iGames.org to find a game center near you for your own copy of iGames Magazine.
More about the magazine can be found here: http://www.igames.org/iGMag.asp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
