Keyboard or no keyboard, that is the question

By ARCHON

Those who have spent any amount of time playing Monster Hunter Tri online have found that communication among hunters is extremely valuable. The game offers a variety of ways to interact. There are of course the avatar gestures (funny, but no always that useful), wii-speak support, an in-game text entry screen, and support for a usb keyboard. It is this last option that I am thinking about taking advantage of.

I love that the game supports wii-speak, an underutilized device for the Wii. I love talking with my friends to plan methods of attack, set up quests, and warn them of low health or a nasty incoming monster attack. This option is fantastic but limited. I can only speak with those I register as friends through Monster Hunter Tri, and in my day to day interaction with other players my only other option is the terrible (alphabetical rather than QWERTY) keyboard in the game itself. Using this to communicate is do-able but painfully slow. So, is getting a keyboard worth it?

I have a friend who swears by using a keyboard, and for good reason. You can get your point across clearly and quickly (sometimes voices come through muffled on the wii-speak) and more importantly you can easily converse with non-friend teammates while battling. If you are a fast typist, it's not even that far of a stretch to type a note or two in the heat of battle, something that is impossible to do with the in-game text entry method. But is it worth it? Should I track down and buy a USB keyboard for just this one game? The video below is a CNET review for logitech's wii wireless keyboard. A particularly slick option. What do you think? How do you communicate in Monster Hunter Tri?