It’s common knowledge that we all need a keyboard for our computers. However, for those of us who are gaming about 90 percent of the time, we want something that comes with all the bells and whistles. The Isku keyboard, put out by German gaming peripheral maker Roccat, leans a bit more towards the higher end range of things, and has a price tag that matches its functionality. However, it has a few begrudging aspects to it.

Following suit with its relatives, the Kone [+] mouse, and the Kave 5.1 headset, the packaging was quite impressive. It seems as though Roccat wants to make sure that the presentation of the exterior matches the interior. I will state again that this professional standard on packaging alone does deserve to be noted, but my rant about all that jazz is on my review of the Kone [+]. That being said, let’s just focus on the task at hand then.

First Look

Upon very first laying my eyes on this keyboard, I was both entranced and completely put off by it. It is a massive keyboard at about 20 x 9.72 inches, due to an enormous amount of buttons, and a wrist rest that is not detachable. As far as looks go though, this thing is beautiful. There is a shiny black plastic that surrounds the keys and buttons, which are slightly more matte and smooth. The shiny plastic is a magnet for fingerprints, so keep that in mind if you’re a bit obsessive compulsive. Surrounding that, which is mainly just the wrist rest, is a more textured black plastic that has the appearance of freshly poured cement. It is a bit lightweight, but does not give the thought of being a cheap piece of plastic.

Its size is honestly what made it unappealing at the start. I have a very large keyboard tray that slides out from my desk, and this thing took up all but an inch of it width-wise. Lying flat, I had a bit of a hard time keeping it at the edge of the tray. It seemed to enjoy sliding away from me. There are two kickstands of sorts that will prop it up, but even then the sliding persists as it’s rubber “feet” are too smooth. Seeing as all the keys and buttons are past the wrist rest, all this moving about made it a little difficult to see what keys I was pressing. In the heat of battle, this was certainly not a good thing. Normally, the illuminated keys would’ve been the saving grace at this juncture, but a portion of the keys back lighting are oddly placed, which means I can’t discern buttons when it comes to making split-second decisions.

Concerning the face of the keyboard, there are 5 LEDs in the top left-hand corner that let you know which of its programmable profiles you are currently using. To the right of these lights is another LED that will indicate when you are in record mode. Simply depress the the button next to the LED labeled “REC’ to record your macro, and press again. However, beware the gruff male voice that will let you know when you’re recording or not, as he might very well scare the living daylights out of you should you forget.

Nearest to the cord at the top of the keyboard are the media keys which can be customized to fit a variety of purposes. On the right side is a singular button that controls the six levels of brightness, sided by the Roccat Talk logo, which will be addressed here in a bit. Just beneath this logo are three LEDs that delineate which Easy Shift [+] profile you are using.

The keys have everything you could want, including a number pad on the right hand side. The left side of the keys has five macro buttons, and beneath the space bar are three thumbster buttons that make for wonderful shortcuts. All keys excluding the media hotkeys illuminate blue.

Features

This keyboard seems as though it has zillion features, its two most notable being the three thumbsters keys, and its 3 Easy Shift[+] zones that utilize something called Roccat Talk. The talking is done between the Kone [+] mouse and this keyboard, and will give them an entirely different set of buttons that can be programmed on one of the 5 profiles they both contain. By default, the Easy Shift [+] button is Caps Lock on the Isku, but it can be programmed onto another key. Once it has been pressed, it can remap the programmable keys and buttons of the keyboard and mouse, or one specifically. This will give you 36 easily-customized buttons that are not far off from your WASD anchor.

The Easy-Aim is a feature that both the mouse and keyboard share as well, which is great for snipers as it will immediately drop your DPI to a speed of your choosing. Simply program a button on either or both, and get headshots every time. Well, if you have good aim that is.

There are default profiles already in place, but you have the option of going in and messing things all about until you have them the way you’d like them to be. Just don’t forget to program an Easy Shift [+] button on both the mouse and keyboard, or you won’t be able to use that aspect.

Performance

This is a very easy keyboard to use. The thumbsters and macros were at a perfect distance, and the keys are in a natural position which meant a great experience in gaming. I was a bit disheartened at the fact that it wasn’t mechanical with all of the pomp and circumstance that it displayed in packaging and appearance, but it is by no means a reason to abandon thought of this product. Unless you are just really fond of that clicking and clacking.

My main annoyance concerning the design of this keyboard was the positioning of the LEDs behind the keys. If you are directly above the keys, you can see them perfectly. As soon as you start to lean back, or go to your normal sitting position, a good portion of the keys are dim to a point of being indiscernible. This would mainly be the top half of keys that are no longer be visible, which was annoying if you were trying to get any typing done and can’t do it all by feel.

Making changes to something if it didn’t suit my needs was clean and simple. It does take a little bit of time (about 30 seconds) to apply the new changes to the device though. The audio feedback on either the mouse or keyboard are also exceedingly helpful, as you never quite know which profile you’re on otherwise.

Conclusions

Obviously, with all of these customizable features, you can expect a long time for setup. It does take a bit of time to go through each profile and set up things the way you like them as well as making sure that you’ve programmed in an Easy Shift [+] button. Even if it is a bit arduous, the end product works quite well. Although this isn’t my favorite keyboard in the world, it does change to fit my needs with its different profiles.

When you’re looking for a headset, function and comfort are the main priorities. If it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at, that’s great and all, but if the quality is crap and it’s super uncomfortable, there’s no use in putting any money into it. To find a headset that encompasses all three aspects, and a reasonable price is somewhat of a rarity.

Roccat is a German gaming peripheral designer that has just come to the states this year, and made their big debut at CES 2012. They have an astounding eye for detail when it comes to packaging, and their product looks the part of a very professional grade. My review last week of the Roccat Kone [+] mouse was nothing but praise, and rightfully so, but I am sad to say that theRoccat Kave 5.1 headset doesn’t deserve such praiseworthy speech.

First Look

As I said in my previous review, upon first opening it, I was impressed by the quality of the packaging, as well as the look and feel of the product itself. It was immediately apparent that the ear cups folded up, which is great for whenever you’d need to travel with them. The exterior of the ear cups are coated in smooth rubber, while everything else but the padding was a matte plastic. The padding for the ear cups were covered in a sort of faux leather, as were the three headband pads. Roccat was very particular in stating that their ear cups had been hand sewn, and while I can’t tell hand-sewn from factory, it is certainly a noteworthy feature.

The headset is predominantly black, the only other colors being grey to delineate Left and Right, the title of the headset, and light blue for the logo as well as the company name. The mic was detachable, and has a LED ring to indicate which side the mic plugs into. It is on this side, about an inch under the mic that the 11.2 foot long cord is attached. That sounds exceedingly long, but is only because it is broken up by the desktop remote, and the splitter. Although it is powered by USB, the headset is actually analog, coming with four 3.5mm jack plugs.

The desktop remote is the central management for all volume functions. On the right side of the box is a switch to give you the option between game and movie mode, and sliders that give you the ability to adjust sub, front, rear, and center volume. All are hidden by a hinged door so they can’t be moved on accident. For the left side of the remote, there is a master control for the volume which is a smooth, rubber coated ring that clicks when turned. On the side of the box is a button that will mute your mic. A blue LED on the tip of the microphone will indicate that is muted, which is great for those of you who think you have turned off your mic, only to find out that you’re still live.

Comfort

This is the section that really sort of ruined these headphones for me. While the ear cups were extremely comfortable and fit over my ears perfectly, the three pads on the headband nearly gave me a migraine. They were put there for equal weight distribution so that it will fit your head perfectly. While it did fit snugly, if it wasn’t perfectly perched on my head, it was actually somewhat painful. I thought it might be something that I would get used to over time, but I made this my primary source for sound for a few weeks, and I’m sad to say that it is still as bad as day one. Maybe it’s just me, but this could definitely do with a bit more padding along the head band.

Audio Quality

The performance of these headphones was rather exceptional. The simulated 5.1 surround sound made sure that no detail was left unheard. Having vibration within the ear cups definitely further immersed me into whatever game I was playing. If a dragon was roaring at me, I actually felt the vibration of his roar. Not to mention that the padding was wonderful at isolation. You won’t hear the doorbell, or even your phone ringing right in front of you with these on.

Sound was also directionally precise, coming out of the 40mm speakers at a 12 degree angle, which means it’s going to be hard for anyone to sneak up behind or beside you, as you’re not missing a scrap of sound from any direction. Adjusting the sliders for specific parts of the volume was helpful, but I never noticed much difference between the game and movie modes.

Conclusion

Although I found the performance of this headset to be wonderful, I wouldn’t purchase them at their $110 asking price. The look and function were all above standard quality, but the fact that I was quite often aware of how painful the headset was to use really deterred me from it. However, there is the possibility that this is an individual occurrence, and may not have the same effect on others. If you are interested in the sound quality of this headset, I encourage you to try them out. It was painful for me on day one, so it should be very telling within a short amount of time whether or not they will be a good fit for you.

There are a lot of differences between consoles and PCs. Some gamers will choose the former because of the low cost, while others might choose the latter because of the better graphics. But one of the most fundamental differences between the two is what you use to play the game with. PC gamers can use controllers, if they choose. However, those with a PS3 or Xbox 360 are generally unable to use a keyboard and mouse.

Over the last few years, different devices have come onto the market that will allow console gamers to experience the same controls that PC gamers have enjoyed. I’ve spent a couple of weeks with one such gadget, the Eagle Eye 3.0 from Penguin United. The version I’ve been using works with the Xbox 360.

First Look

In the box you’ll find a 22-page instruction guide, a CD, and the device itself. The device is a small box with a 13′ USB cable, two USB ports and a number of switches. Eight of the switches are for “turbo” and correspond with the buttons on your controller. The other two are for programming the box and switching between one of two different profiles.

Setup

Remember were I said that there was a 22-page instruction guide? There’s a good reason for that. Every page is in English, so you’ll be reading each and every page. To be honest, this is one of the most difficult and time-consuming devices to setup that I’ve encountered. There is good reason for this, as you’re trying to translate key presses and mouse movements into something that your console can recognize.

First thing you’ll need upon setting up this device is an official wired Xbox 360 controller. When they say official, they mean it. I tried using our Batarang controller from Power A, which is officially licensed, but it was a no-go. If you don’t have an official wired controller from Microsoft, you’ll need to add that to the cost of the device.

To program the box, you’ll need to plug it into your computer, and run the software on the CD. You’ll then map each button, trigger, and analog stick to your desired keys. I’d recommend pulling out the manual for the game you intend on playing, as it will help greatly. Once you’ve done that, you can export it to the device. If you have another game you plan on playing, you can flip the switch to “Key Map 2” and setup another profile.

Now it’s time to hook it up to your 360. With the console powered off, you’ll plug in the box, and hook your wired 360 controller to it. Power on the console, and once your controller has been assigned a position on the console (it should be the first and only controller), you can unplug it, and plug in your keyboard and mouse. Now these too, must be wired. Also, neither of them should specifically require a driver to run, as for obvious reasons, you can’t install one. Most wired keyboards and mice will work.

If you’re really lucky, you could start playing your game straightaway, and have fun. However, that isn’t going to be the case most of the time. For this, you will use the F1-F8 keys to modify your deadzone, X-axis sensitivity, Y-axis sensitivity, angle correction, and rotation speed limit. Going through each of these can take several minutes, adding significantly to your setup time. If you’re doing this for the first time, I’d set aside 30 minutes for setup, bare minimum.

If you want to knock off some of that time, you can try going to the Penguin site and downloading a keymap that another user has already uploaded. You’ll still need to calibrate everything for your particular keyboard/mouse and specific tastes.

Performance

This is obviously the most important part. Is all of that setup time really going to improve your game? My answer isn’t exactly a definite one. I’m a PC gamer at heart, so I tend to do better with a keyboard and mouse, rather than a controller. So was my performance better while using this device? I can answer that with yes.

What’s interesting is that playing console games with a keyboard and mouse didn’t feel as natural on my 360 as it does on my PC. After countless hours of playing, I couldn’t ever quite put my finger on it, but something about it always felt off. The mouse was responsive enough, and I was able to make shots that I’d never have pulled off with a controller. However, I feel like I didn’t perform up to par, when compared to how I played on a PC. Overall though, I enjoyed being able to use my favorite keyboard and mouse while playing with friends on my 360, and my kill/death ratio was generally higher than when I’d switch back to my controller.

Final Thoughts

Setting up the Eagle Eye is a pain in the ass, no doubt about it. However, if you have the patience to get through that, it can certainly provide the desired results, to a degree. My personal experience was that I performed better than with a controller, but not quite as good as I normally would on a PC. So is it worth the $60 price tag? That depends on how much you plan on playing with a keyboard/mouse, and how good you are with a controller. Also, if you don’t have an official wired controller from Microsoft, that price just jumped up to around $100.

When it comes to Kinect, it seems like there are three groups. First, you have the group that enjoys casual games like Kinectimals. Then, there is the group that has hacked it to work on the PC, and uses it for a variety of purposes. Finally, you have the people that just don’t care. Most people I know fall into the last category. Of course, that’s not going to stop Microsoft from putting all of their weight behind the product.

The company has recently announced that they will be making the Kinect available on the PC starting February 1st. If you’re a bit confused, don’t worry, you’re in good company. It’s already been proven time and again that the currently available hardware works just fine on a PC. So why the new branding? We’re not sure. At least it’ll be the same price, right?

In a strange move, Microsoft has announced that the Kinect for Windows will retail for a whopping $250. Yes, that’s $100 more than the Xbox version is currently selling for. What we don’t know is why it costs so much extra. But what I really want to know is who they expect to buy this. The people who care about using motion controls with their PC likely already have one, and you’re going to be hard-pressed to convince those that don’t to shell out an extra $100 for the “Windows” version. As of now, there has been no word on any hardware changes between the two models, so my only guess is that you’re paying a premium for software, which would simply be ridiculous.

First Impression

Upon first glance the Steelseries Sensei looks like a sleek piece of equipment. The timeless design of incorporating metallic colors and nearly infinitely customizable LED accents would please even the pickiest of gamer. The Sensei may not be as flamboyant as some of the mice that other competitors have to offer, but what it lacks in ostentation it makes up for in functionality.

The Sensei has a feature that all manufacturers should take note of; the monochromatic LCD display on the underside of the mouse. Immediately, upon inspecting the LCD, I thought it was used for nothing more than a useless feature that allowed further customization by placement of custom graphic. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After reading the manual, I realized that this was one of the Sensei’s most valuable features. The LCD allows users to change mouse settings without having any special software installed. This feature is a game-changer for gamers that move their mice from computer to computer.

Using the Sensei was a blast. Just by holding the mouse in your hand, you can tell that it is built incredibly well. It did not feel flimsy and had a great weight distribution. This mouse is on the heavier side and does not have any options for changing the weight like many competitors have flaunted. The braided cord was plenty long to reach behind my desk and to the floor to where my PC sits. The Sensei also has some extra-large mouse feet that makes it effortless to move around on my mouse pad.

Overall, I was extremely pleased by how the mouse performed for my everyday productivity and
gaming needs.

Functionality

In order to customize your mouse fully, you need to install software that is available on the Steelseries website. After installing the software you are able to change the colors for the mouse wheel and Steelseries logo independently. The software is not only useful for aesthetics but for customizing sensitivity, acceleration, deceleration as well. It comes preloaded with the profiles of many of the world’s most renowned pro players so you can replicate their setup.

Another awesome feature is the ability to save the profiles directly to the Sensei. With 5 preloaded slots, you can rest assured that you will have plenty of profiles to choose from as each profile also allows you to change between two speeds at 0-11,400 CPI—that’s right, 11,400. The software also allows you to remap the 8 buttons on the mouse to macros, special functions, or even to launch applications. Overall, I found the software much more enjoyable than options offered by competitors as it was very responsive and intuitive.

Conclusion

After using the Sensei, I am convinced that this is the most advanced mouse on the market. The features that is showcases are far beyond anything competitors offer. Don’t think the Sensei will immediately make you a better gamer, but remember, a carpenter is only as good as his tools. If you are looking to purchase a great all around gaming mouse, look no further, the Sensei is the best choice.

If you played the Spyro games, you were no doubt excited to hear that a new Spyro game was on the rise. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure definitely caught my eye because I grew up playing the lovable purple dragon, and bonded with him through the varying story lines of all the different games. This new-fangled game looked exciting and innovative, and it is, but it was not what I was expecting.

Story

The game is set in the world of Skylands, which is a magical world filled with creatures called Skylanders. Eon is one of the last Portal Masters, and has fallen, alongside the Core of Light, due to the workings of the evil Portal Master Kaos. The darkness Kaos brings has banished the Skylanders to another world entirely. Our world. In their journey here, they were shrunken and frozen (likely due to their traveling through space and time) and appear to be toys here. It your duty, the new Portal Master, to send the Skylanders back to Skylands via the Portal of Power to save the day by rebuilding the Core of Light to defeat Kaos. Throughout the game you need to find different components to rebuild the core, and help some of the creatures you meet along the way. A few familiar faces from the Spyro games pop up here and there, but this is not anything like the Spyro games of old. A new cast of characters, money, and moves have been thrown into the mix.

Gameplay

This falls under the genre of an action platform game. With an added peripheral and some toys, it may seem a bit labor intensive as you will be swapping out creatures mid-game, but is surprisingly enjoyable. As this is a kids game, everything does run a little bit slower, and is much more repetitive, but it doesn’t diminish the game if you have an ounce of patience.

The main aspects of the game are fetch-quests, puzzles, shooting, and fighting. It is a very linear game, so the outcome will be the same for every gamer, but it is in the characters that you play with where things become customizable.  There are 32 characters that you can control in all, and each have their own memory to track their level, skills, accessories, and money. This exuberant amount is broken down into 8 elements, with four different creatures in each. You do not have to have all 32 to complete the game, but if you want to finish the game at 100%, it is necessary to have one of each earth, fire, air, life, undead, magic, water, and technology element. There are “side quests” in the game that can only be accessed by certain elements, which are basically extra areas of loot and enemies.

You can blast through the game with only one character, but you won’t be able to get everything accomplished in the game. Instead you have to use each one accordingly, and try and build them up somewhat equally so they don’t suck if you need them in a pinch. Even if one of your Skylanders dies, you have other toys that will be at full health if you haven’t used them in the level you’re playing. Co-op mode basically takes single player, and makes it a thousand times easier. You can level up two creatures at once, and defeat enemies twice as fast! Versus mode is nothing to get really excited about as the maps for the three different modes are rather small.

Combat

You don’t have to have pristine aim or skills, as this is geared more towards kids, and doesn’t have pinpoint targets. Between each character, there are different styles of fighting of a pretty sizable range. There is no fear of falling of the sides while fighting, but enemies and loot can fall off the side and meet their demise. The only things that I would call difficult are the boss battles as they particularly long, and you are very likely going to go through a Skylander or two during it. Other than that, you can learn pretty quickly what moves are most effective, and easily plow through enemies. Most of the guesswork is taken out of things.

Conclusion

This game has quickly gotten me addicted, and made me sad at the same time. This is not the Spyro game I was expecting, as Spyro actually had no active role in the game whatsoever. Sure he was a playable character, but most of what I loved about the old games were the worlds, and the story continuity. This is completely new world, and not many of the same aspects were kept in this game.

I will say however, that the added peripheral and toys were possibly one of the best ideas for a game ever. If it exists, I have not seen another game that uses this kind of addition, and has done it correctly. Within 24 hours of starting up the game, I was out at the store completing a collection of the 8 elements, and have never been more excited about buying plastic figures.  The Portal would occasionally bug out if I was a bit too overzealous to swap out characters, but other than that it was pretty flawless. I was constantly wanting to get through levels for upgrades, and the ctuscenes were a bit of a treat since I was familiar with some of the voices (Krunk from Emperor’s New Groove, and Invader Zim). The plot line is interesting because it breaks the fourth wall by addressing you as a sort of omnipresent being as a Portal Master. This is a whole new way to approach interactive gaming, as you’re not just mashing buttons and seeing the outcome on the screen. You have to physically put characters into the game, and can choose which ones will receive your favor. There is a huge replay-ability as you can do a chapter select, and can redo levels with shorter times, find hidden treasures, and specials upgrades that you may have missed on the first round.

When someone mentions Corsair, I tend to immediately think of PC memory. However, they offer plenty of other things, such as SSDs, cases, and cooling solutions. This week they have announced their decision to move into the peripheral market with their new Vengeance brand.

The new Vengeance brand specifically targets the PC gaming crowd with an offering of headsets, keyboards and mice. What’s interesting is that they are specifically targeting two different branches of gamers: MMO and FPS players. They recognize that both genres have a very different play style, and thus benefit from different types of hardware.

So what are the differences between the offered hardware? For instance, the MMO keyboard (model K90) will feature individual LEDs for each key to make them more visible, and a host of macro keys. On the FPS side (model K60), they’ve removed the lights from each key, and given players textured keys for WASD and numbers 1-6. You’ll also get a wrist rest that sits just below those keys. Both keyboards will feature an aluminum chassis and Cherry MX red mechanical switches, which are touted as some of the best on the market, and are surprisingly quiet. The K90 will fetch $129, while the K60 will only set you back $109.

The difference between the two mice basically comes down to macro keys. On the M90 you’ll get 9 customizable buttons on the side, while the M60 will have a DPI switch that will let you temporarily change the sensitivity of your mouse while it is pressed. This can be great for times when you need an extra steady hand. The M90 and M60 will cost $79 and $69 respectively.

Finally, you’ll find three headsets in the Vengeance line. These will run between $39-$99 and will range from simple neckphones with a mic to a simulated 7.1 surround sound headset. The entire Vengeance lineup will be available starting in October.

We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about a possible second analog stick coming to the 3DS. At their recent 3DS-centric press conference, Nintendo did indeed confirm its existence. Thankfully the company isn’t churning out yet another handheld console, but is instead offering an add-on accessory that will add the functionality to existing hardware.

So how much is the latest accessory going to set you back? A surprisingly modest sum of 1500 yen (they didn’t announce a US price, but that would translate into around $20) is all that it will fetch. The add-on will need some extra juice to operate, but that will be satisfied with just a single AAA. Honestly, with the extra bulk that it adds, I’ll be very surprised if we don’t see a 3rd party offer one that includes a battery pack for your 3DS.

The release date is slated for December 10 in Japan, however, none was announced for any other markets. As for titles that will take advantage of the extra stick, we currently know Monster Hunter 3G, Resident Evil Revelations, Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D, Ace Combat 3D Cross Rumble, Dynasty Warriors Vs and Kingdom Hearts 3D are on the list.

NZXT is known for their computer cases, but they have slowly started expanding their offerings into different areas. They now have a variety of CPU coolers, fan controllers and other PC-related devices. Not long ago they released their second mouse, the Avatar S. The S stands for smaller, as it is a slimmed down version of their original Avatar mouse. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the new peripheral.

First Look

When looking at the mouse for the first time, I immediately noticed how long and slender it was. In fact, it’s nearly a full inch longer than my R.A.T. 7 and an inch slimmer at its narrowest point. As someone with somewhat large hands, the extra length sounds appealing, but I was skeptical about how narrow it was. We’ll get more into that later. The overall look of the mouse (we have the white version) greatly resembles NZXT’s H2 chassis, with the black accents and blue lights.

The mouse is also completely symmetrical, except for the logo and DPI switch. The reason for this is so that it can accommodate both left and right-handed gamers. Curiously, there is only a single thumb button on each side, rather than two.

Setup

There isn’t a lot of setup for the mouse, as you can simply plug it in and start playing. However, NZXT does provide software for customizing various features. The software is surprisingly robust for a mouse as simple as this. You can re-map all five buttons, and even map the up and down scrolling to different actions. The three DPI levels can be adjusted anywhere between 400 and 1600, so you’re not limited to defaults. Finally, you can adjust the sensitivity of both the X and Y xis separately.

Comfort/Performance

Since your hand is going to be on your mouse throughout most games, comfort is key. Remember earlier when I said that the S stood for small? That’s something you’re going to want to take into account when considering this mouse. That said, this mouse is too small for my hands. The narrow body makes it so that my hand is always sitting in an unnatural position. Of course, while this is a big negative for me, those with smaller hands will no doubt be happy with the size.

With the smaller size also comes a lighter weight than I find in most mice. Again, this comes down to a preference, but this mouse is just way too light for me. It’s easy to lift it right off the desk in the middle of a game, which means that the mouse will become unresponsive (if only for a split-second).

My other big issue with this mouse has to do with the thumb buttons. On most gaming mice, you’ll find two buttons on the left side. These take minimal effort to use, and make for great back/forward buttons when surfing the net. The Avatar S only has a single one on the left side, with the other taking up residence on the right side. I have to hit that button with my ring finger, which is not an easy task. I actually have to move my entire hand if I wish to use it, which does little to benefit me in the middle of a game. This may not be an issue for people with smaller hands, as their finger might sit right on top of the button.

I will say that the teflon pads on the bottom make for smooth mousing on most surfaces. It moved more freely than any of my current mice, which means it takes less effort to make slight adjustments to your direction.

Conclusion

As hard as I’ve been on this mouse throughout the review, I do have to stress that it appears to have been specifically designed for people with smaller hands. If you have large hands, you won’t want anything to do with the Avatar S. However, if you’re in their target demographic, you may love it. Having the ability to re-map all of your keys with the software is great, and it does look rather stylish. For $40, it does have a bit more going for it than your average peripheral at that point. Just make sure it fits your hand before making the purchase.

If you’re an avid PC gamer, then you know that your peripherals mean just as much as the internal hardware when it comes to gaming performance. Players look for response, functionality, and comfort when it comes to the tools they use when gaming. Thermaltake put this idea into action when they rolled out their eSPORTS line of gaming hardware, and we’ve got an item from their peripheral section to check out – the Thermaltake eSPORTS Black Element Gaming Mouse.

Look and Feel

At first glance, the Black Element Gaming Mouse looks both sleek and very stylish. It is coated with a rubber finish, which allows for a sturdy grip which won’t get your furious palm sweat all over the mouse. There is a rubber grip on the left side of the Element which has a razed surface, allowing for a thumb grip that enhances control. The ergonomic design of the mouse makes it a perfect fit for almost any size of hand gamers wield. The slick surface coating the underside of the Element also makes it possible to slide across the mouse pad quickly, with no lag or pull.

The Element also includes a Pause-Break Lighting System which allows for the switch between up to 5 different colors on the mouse’s built-in LEDs. Players can choose from red, aqua, navy blue, green, and pink. The lights are bright enough that gaming in the dark is no problem while using the Element. The track wheel is coated with the same rubber surfacing, making it easy to scroll no matter the amount desired. The wheel itself is shaped like a gear, ensuring for a non-slip experience whenever using the mouse. With the grips, rubber coating, and the direct placement of the macro buttons, the Black Element is definitely a mouse that’s easy to get comfortable with using.

Functionality

The Black Element is another USB laser mouse, so installation is easy. All that’s required from players for use is literally just plugging the mouse in. On most systems, the drivers will be found and installed immediately. Thermaltake also offers a downloadable interface which presents users with a whole batch of settings which can be tweaked to your desire. The interface provides 5 customizable profiles, each with 9 macro keys. Each key can be programmed for a macro, or single-key commands, which can then be used in whatever game you decide to play. Users can then save each customizable profile and switch between them on-the-fly, making the mouse a very versatile tool when it comes to hardcore gaming. With 128kb worth of memory storage within the mouse, the Element quickly becomes a great peripheral to have when jumping between your favorite PC games.

The Element has an on board dpi engine that allows for the cycle through each dpi setting from 100 to 6500. This is a great feature because it allows for customizable dpi selections whenever you need them. I noticed that the dpi I needed varied between games, and it even varied again when I was using the mouse for normal work on the PC. There are two dpi buttons right under the scroll wheel that can change the dpi up or down depending on the button you press. This is great because you don’t have to constantly hit the button to cycle through the preset dpi settings like other mice. With the Element you can switch directly to the setting you desire without wasting time.

The only issue I experienced with the Element came late in my testing phase. Once I was using the mouse for about three weeks or so, it started responding erratically when I tried to use it. It began to either not function at all, or sporadically jump over the screen like I was shaking it on the desk. Also, whenever I tried to move the mouse left across the mouse pad, it continued to go up instead of left. This made it difficult to play some games, especially if I was in a tight situation. It became very frustrating and I couldn’t seem to remedy the situation. I tried cleaning the mouse out, cleaning my desk and mouse pad, and disconnecting the mouse but it continued to provide the same issue. I still have not figured out a solution to the problem

Conclusion

The Thermaltake eSPORTS Black Element Gaming Mouse isn’t a bad mouse for its buck. For $65 you can’t really beat it. Although I did experience an issue towards the end, I can’t say that it was all due to a fault of the mouse. Other than the one issue I found the Element performed great and I still continue to use it. If you’re out in the market for a new gaming mouse, I would recommend the Element to you, because every gamer needs a versatile tool in their arsenal. This is probably the best peripheral for your money, and you’re sure to get your money’s worth.