With the release of Wrath Of The Lich King getting ever closer, Steelseries have decided to take advantage of the increasing WoW fever by releasing a new gaming mouse aimed at MMO players - the World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse.
Apparently some users of the Razer Lycosa keyboard have expressed a dislike of its rubbery keys, so the Razer Lycosa Mirror Edition has been developed to counter that criticism.
There’s a new budget gaming keyboard in town, and its called the Razer Arctosa.
The need to fuel your body can be a great distration when you’re in the middle of a good gaming session. Hunger pangs don’t help your concentration, but breaking away from the game can be difficult if you’re in the middle of a group dungeon raid or a critical round of Counterstrike.
So what do you do? Keep a few bags of crisps by your keyboard? Well, they’re fiddly and messy and you end up with greasy fingers. What about making a sandwich in advance? Nope, it’ll probably have dried up by the time you’re hungry and it’ll feel like you’re chewing cardboard. You could phone for a pizza - but you’ll still have to get up and answer the door.
No, apparently what you really need is Gamer Grub, a “performance snack formulated especially for gamers”. It comes in a variety of flavours and is stored in a handy container so you can eat with one hand and frag with the other.
With flavours including Action Pizza, Racing Wasabi, Sports PB&J and Strategy Chocolate, and a scientifically formulated recipe that “that boosts your core gaming systems—such as visual input, cognitive processing, signal transmission and muscle reflexes”, Gamer Grub sounds like the ideal solution to an in-game attack of the munchies.
Whether it tastes good is a different matter, but you’ll be able to find out when it hits the stores in 2009.
Source: GamerFront
Razer have been enjoying a bit of high profile success recently as 18 year old Belarusian, Alexey “Cypher” Yanusheuski, has emerged as Quake 3 Champion after two days of competition. Cyper was kitted out with some of Razer’s best gaming peripherals including a Tarantula keyboard, HP-1 headphones and a Goliathus mousepad.
To celebrate Cypher’s success Razer have decided to produce a limited edition Deathadder. The snappily titled Team Serious Gaming “Cypher” - ESWC ‘08 Commemorative Edition Razer DeathAdder comes in white (Cypher’s favourite colour) and is adorned with the Razer logo and the legend ‘Serious.Gaming.Cypher’. Hmm, not taking themselves too seriously then!
It’s not entirely clear from the press release if the Deathadder was the mouse that led Cypher to victory. If it was, and I’m assuming it was otherwise why make a commemorative Deathadder, it doesn’t say a lot for the rest of Razer’s range and their obsession with high DPI. If you can be a champion with an 1800DPI Deathadder, why on earth do we need a 4000DPI Lachesis?
Anyway, there are only twenty of these mice available. You can try and buy one through the Serious Gaming website, or win one in a competition on the Razer website.
Source: Razer
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the likes of Logitech, Razer and Saitek, all manufacturers of popular gaming mice. But have you heard of a company called Silverstone and their new gaming mouse, the Silverstone Raven?
So looking at the Raven you can immediately spot the unique feature of its design - the large protrusion where your thumb would normally rest (more on this in a moment). Other than that this is a typical gaming mouse, with features including:
Manufactured from strong plastic and decorated in black with a carbon-fibre effect on the shell, the Silverstone Raven feels like it will last. The left/right buttons are covered in a rubbery material that helps grip, while the rest of the case is smooth plastic.
The mouse is comfortable to hold, although is not very well-suited to gamers with small hands (mine are king of average-sized) and measures 128 x 85 x 45mm. Silverstone also claim that the positioning of the laser sensor in the Raven gives it prefect 50:50 weight balance (all 182 grams), although I doubt many people will really notice any benefit from that.
Underneath the mouse you’ll find four teflon-covered feet that allow smooth gliding, and there’s also a switch to toggle between Windows and Game modes.
So let’s get the burning question out of the way - what the hell is the lump sticking out of the side? Well, this is a second mouse-wheel that by default controls task switching in Windows XP or Flip 3D in Vista. In the centre of the wheel is a button that switches between DPI settings in Windows mode, or five DPI/button profiles in game mode.
Also in game mode, when one of the two buttons on top of the mouse are pressed (below the left/right buttons) and the wheel is moved the DPI setting of either the X or Y axis can be changed on-the-fly.
So far so good.
I decided to put the Raven to use in a few rounds of Counterstrike to see how well the 3200DPI sensor coped.
The sensor tracks well from 400DPI all the way up to 3200DPI and the buttons all act with a satisfying click. The on-the-fly DPI adjustment is simple to use and the OLED display presents the current level in a clear font, along with an animated Raven logo.
But … and yes, there is a but … the thumb-wheel is a bit of a nuisance. It’s incredibly easy to catch the DPI button at the centre of the wheel, and if you’re in Windows mode that means it’s easy to accidentally switch between DPI levels. If you’re at 3200DPI you’ll catch the button and suddenly find yourself at 400DPI … more often than not resulting in in-game death as you desperately struggle to get back up to your original DPI.
Even switching to gaming mode won’t fix it, partly because this is easy to forget as the switch is hidden away on the base of the mouse. You’ll still have the same problem with the DPI button, only this time it will be switching between your five DPI and button profiles. The problem disappears if you only have one profile, but that then makes a mockery of the ability to have ‘up to 5 profiles’.
Admittedly this is less of a problem when using the Raven for less frantic games or normal Windows applications, but the Raven is billed as a gaming mouse and FPS games are incredibly popula
The Silverstone Raven looks great when reading the specification list but fails to back that up when you’re actually using it.
Solidly built and with most of the features you’d expect of a top-ranking gaming mouse, it’s that unique side scrollwheel that proves to be the Raven’s biggest weakness. Admittedly I didn’t use the mouse for a prolonged period of time, and it might be that I would have got used to the button with time. However, first impressions count for a lot, and when there are so many other great gaming mice to choose from you have to ask why you should put up with such a strange design when the benefits are fairly minimal.
It’s a nice try from Silverstone, but unless you really like the unique design I’d recommend you look elsewhere for a new gaming mouse.
Do you spend hour upon hour sat at the computer and eventually come away with a headache and sore, dry eyes? I know I do (work and gaming) and sometimes my eyes can get quite uncomfortable.
Well, a company called Gunnar Optiks have come up with a special range of glasses that seeks to reduce glare from monitors, and make on-screen images and text much clearer and easier to read. The lenses of the glasses have a yellowish tint that helps to cancel out some of the blue light from overhead lighting and reduce the contrast of the white background of documents on the screen.
The Gunnar Optiks are available in a range of styles and colours, and there’s some information on the site that explains how the technology works.
There’s a review of the lenses over at Gearlog and they do sound quite promising. Priced at $100 they aren’t cheap, but if it saves you getting a pounding headache after a long gaming session then maybe it’s worth the investment.
I just wish they were available with normal prescription glasses.
Source: Gearlog
Following the announcement of the slightly underwhelming Sidewinder X5 gaming mouse, Microsoft have more for gamers in the shape of the Sidewinder X6 Gaming Keyboard.
While not the most handsome of keyboards, the X6 is packed with features that should make it a very tempting choice for buyers.
The first, and most unusual feature, is the removable numeric keypad. This keypad can be positioned on both the left and right side of the keyboard, so if you’re a left handed user who’s always hated the default position of the number pad - here’s your chance to change things.
The number pad also doubles as a programmable macro pad in ‘game mode’. When combined with the macro keys on the main section of the keyboard, the Sidewinder X6 allows you to program up to 90 macros per game. Any key profiles you create are stored on the hard drive and can be configured to auto-load when you start a particular game. You can also record macros while in the middle of a game saving you the trouble of switching to the desktop to fiddle with macro software.
As you’d expect of a gaming keyboard, the Sidewinder X6 features backlighting. By default the lighting is a subtle red glow, but when the keyboard is switched into gaming mode (at the press of a button) the number pad and macro keys switch to amber lighting to make them easier to spot.
There’s also the mysterious Cruise Control feature that allows you to “continue an action without having to hold down the key or keys assigned to the action. You can use Cruise Control with up to four keys at a time.” If I’m understanding that correctly it sounds like the auto-fire switch you’d get on a gamepad or joystick.
Oh, and the funny looking round blobs at the top of the keyboard? They’re both dials, one for the volume and one for the brightness of the lighting.
The Sidewinder X6 keyboard is due in stores in September, priced at $79.95. If you’re interested, Amazon are already taking pre-orders
Microsoft were busy at the recent Leipzig Show, bringing with them two new bits of PC gaming hardware. The first was this, the Microsoft Sidewinder X5 Gaming Mouse, and the other was the Sidewinder X6 keyboard.
Under the skin the Microsoft Sidewinder X5 is identical to the previous Sidewinder, powered by a 2,000 dpi laser sensor. Like the original, the new Sidewinder X5 has buttons on top for varying the dpi between three levels (400, 800, 2000). The dpi settings for these three buttons can be adjusted in the driver software, and the current setting is indicated by a glowing red button.
With up to 2,000 dpi the Sidewinder X5 is in the mid-range of headline-grabbing DPI levels. This makes it a good all-rounder which should satisfy most gamers who don’t have the fine hand control of a top surgeon.
At full sensitivity the cursor feels very responsive, and in FPS games it helps your reaction times tremendously over a non-gaming mouse. The DPI buttons are also great when you switch back to the Windows desktop so you can tone down the cursor movement for the boring stuff.
There are a total of nine buttons on the Sidewinder X5, five of which are programmable (left, right, mousewheel and two side buttons. You can add to that the three DPI buttons, and there’s another buttons for opening up the Windows Vista games explorer.
Five programmable buttons is again mid-range in this market, but should also be enough for most gamers to add a few in-game actions to the mouse.
The two side buttons are unusual in that they are ‘vertical’ buttons, one placed above the other, unlike most other mice where the side buttons tend to be side by side. It takes a few minutes to adjust to the layout but once you’re familiar with it you tend not to notice the difference.
The driver software is typically Microsoft, making do without the flashy screens that often make other manufacturer’s software difficult to use. The screens are laid out logically and it’s easy to program the buttons to do exactly what you want.
While the X5 is a makeover of the original Sidewinder design, it does miss out in some of the more interesting features of the original. For a start there’s no LCD display, which used to display the current DPI setting. You’re also missing the ability to record macros on the fly, there are no adjustable weights and no interchangeable feet. It really is a cut-down Sidewinder, but this is also reflected in the reduced RRP of $59.99/£44.99 (against the previous Sidewinder at $79.99/£59.99).
So is there anything wrong with the mouse? Well, some people didn’t like the feel of the original Sidewinder (I thought it was fine, even after a long gaming session it felt reasonably comfortable). The shape of the X5 hasn’t been changed at all, so I’m sure the same complaints will surface.
The biggest problem for the X5 is it’s older brother, the original Sidewinder. A quick look on Ebay will reveal the fact that it can currently be bought for significantly less than the RRP of the new X5. I saw a US auction with a Buy-It-Now of $37.99 while in the UK you could get one sent to you today for around £32, making it only two thirds the price of the new model. Seeing as the original has those extra features … well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it makes a better buy. However, in time the X5 will attract similar discounts and should become cheaper, but until then I can’t recommend it.
The Nova Killer mousepad is a big favourite of mine, and now there is a new and improved version - the imaginatively titled Nova Killer 2.
Sticking with the unusual shape of the original, the Nova Killer 2 is roughly the same size (337×307mm now, 320×320mm before) and is just as thin thin at only 3mm deep. This time the main surface of the pad can come in two colours, black or white, with the raised outer edge coming in a choice of red, black or silver.
Cosmetics aside the Nova Killer 2 is very much like the old version. The first thing you will probably notice about the Nova Killer 2 when you pick it up is its surface, which feels slightly gritty but without being rough. It is this gritty texture, as well as the metallic nature of the surface, that helps the Nova Killer 2 give fantastic results when used with optical and laser mice.
You should notice an immediate improvement in response when your mouse is placed on the Killer’s surface. Cursor response is immediate and despite the grittiness of the surface there is very little friction when moving the mouse. Nova claim an 80% reduction in friction, and while I couldn’t comment on the accuracy of that claim I will say that the mouse does seem to move a lot more easily. In play the unusual shape works quite well, and the raised edge is an excellent way of letting you know you’re about to run off the edge of the pad.
The underneath of the Nova Killer 2 is also quite special, being made of a sponge-like material that grips solidly to smooth surfaces. There is no way this mousepad is going to move during gameplay, it holds onto the surface of a desk like a limpet to the hull of a ship.
I ordered my Nova Killer from Play.com for £17 and while that’s not cheap (you might see one on eBay for slightly less) you shouldn’t let the price put you off. The Nova Killer 2 is a great gaming mousepad and definitely worth investing in.
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