Test Hardware Help

I'm having trouble using my microphone. The microphone functions correctly,
but let me explain. It sounds perfectly clear when I use windows sound
recorder or many other applications using the microphone. There is a problem
with the microphone and Valve's Steam Half-Life games. I went to control
panel, sound and audio properties, voice, then test hardware. It detects
sound coming from the microphone, but when I speak into it, it sounds all
muffled and the words come out completely wrong.

For example, If i say "see" it sounds like a combination of "dee" and "tee",
also, if i say "two" it sounds like "poom". This happens when i use the
windows test hardware and using the microphone in Half-Life games. It's
obviously something to do with windows since the exact same problem occurs in
the windows test hardware.

I'm using a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card, but they sent me the wrong
set of drivers when i bought it OEM, so i downloaded the proper drivers from
the creative labs web site. I don't have any software that's supposed to
come along with the audio card, so I can't configure the card through the
proper software.

This does sound like a problem with windows though, since when I use voice
recorder or just about any other application implimenting the microphone, it
comes out crystal clear. The problem only happens when I play Half-Life
games or when i run the windows test hardware under control panel/sounds and
audio devices/voice/test hardware.