A new presentation just showcased some Xbox cloud gaming enhancements

Xbox cloud gaming mouse and keyboard support, continually teased for roughly a year now, is finally coming to the platform. Announced by way of the Microsof??t Game D??ev YouTube channel in a stream meant to assist dev?elopers creating projects on the Xbox platform, the long-awaited feature is going to be rolled out widely this year.

Xbox engineer Morgan Brown started the segmen??t (which begins at 16:45 in the below video) on how they've been looking at adding the feature "for a while now," and are finally implementing it. As Brown puts it, developers can add the feature "right now," as a? way to plus up the game for folks who aren't using cloud gaming on PC already.

Brown also touched on a few other topics that will make Xbox cloud gaming that much smoother in the future:

• Tricks to achieve lower latency for cloud gaming, which results in snappier controls
• The introduction of direct capture for cloud gaming
• Tips to create a better UI for mobile devices that avoid the "tiny text problem"
• Full screen rendering system changes that allow for more custom resolutions, so cloud gaming looks better overall (with less black bars, and even resizing on the fly)
• Easier access to adding subtitles for accessibility, as well as brightness, audio, and controller remapping options (with options to save individual device settings, so you don't need to constantly remap or readjust)

All good stuff! So far Microsoft has been one of the bett??er purveyors of cloud gaming, s??o hopefully the above bullet point enhancements continue to flow like wine.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WIXftoHCl4

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More adaptive options for those who could use them

Microsoft announced a new line of adaptive accessories today, as part of its ongoing ef??forts for accessibility. The accessories include three different adaptive options, intended to help those who might have difficulty?? with a traditional mouse and keyboard.

As part of Microsoft's 2022 Ability Summit, the adaptive accessories come in three parts. A mouse, buttons, and hub make up the lineup, with the fir??st two supporting 3D-printed accessories so they ??can be customized.

The mouse has options like thumb rests that can flip around, for right- or left-han??d use. It also has additional "tails," for different co?nfigurations of the palm-side of the mouse.

Buttons get pretty moddable too. They let you add eight programmable inputs, but the form can vary. Different toppers allow for D-pad, joystick, or dual button inputs, or even a 3D-printed custom topper. The hub ties it all together, wirelessly pairing with up to four adaptive buttons. It also allows for standard 3.?5mm assistive tech switches, and can have a few different profiles for use with multiple devices.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yx0CISTMFE

The Mi?crosoft Adaptive Accessories are expected to launch this fall.

Making gaming easier for all

This is part of Microsoft's larger push for accessibility in hardware. The Xbox Adaptive Controller provided a really neat and effective way of adding more accessibility options. The Surface Adaptive kit added? extra options for its line of tablet computers, too.

Games like Gears 5 have also pushed accessibility options, including features like improved speaker subtitles a??nd si?ngle stick movement.

More options and tools for games to be made more playable are always a good thing, so this is a rad initiative to see. Making tech in general easier to use is a good initiative. It's nice to see Microsoft not just undertake this, but stick to it over a few different ??iterations and pieces of tech.

The post Microsoft reveals new ada?ptive accessories with mou??se, buttons, and hub appeared first on Destructoid.

So cute it hurts

As a gamer with more feminine taste, I'm always looking for pink gaming peripherals to break up the sea of black plastic and red LEDs. Initially released back in 2019, Razer's Quartz collection gave fans what they had been waiting for with a ??line of baby pink gaming accessories, including a mouse, microphones, a keyboard, and most famously, a headset with cat ears on it. The line of peripherals flooded our social media feeds, with e-girls, e-boys, and e-nbies alik??e finally being able to complete their soft gaming aesthetic.

After collaborating with Street Fighter and Super Monkey Ball, Hello Kitty is back on the scene with her own Razer capsule collection. If you thought the Quartz collection was cute, ??just wait until you see the new headset, mouse, mousepad, and gaming chair that are dropping as part of the Razer x Saniro collab, each item branded with Hello Kitty and her friends.

Razer's Kraken BT headset is one of their staples, and this time it's decked out with white cat ears, complete with Kitty White's signature bow for $119.99. The mousepad and keyboard are self-explanatory, but equally as adorable, and will run you $64.99 for the set. The $499 Iskur X chair is the real star of the show here, and also has the opti??on to come with a lumbar support pillow for an extra $59.99.

I am currently sitting on a cheap IKEA desk chair that has been scratched to all hell by my own cats, and I can?? tell you that?? it's taking everything in my power not to buy this chair.

I don't even need a new gami??ng headset, but the siren song of the Hello Kitty ears is calling to me. The fact that I'm this tempted to drop the cash shows what a great move this was on Razer's part, because I get the feeling they're going to have t??rouble keeping this stuff in stock.

The post I’m obsessed with the new Razer x Hello Kitty collection appeared first on Destructoid.

So many letters

We've got a giveaway for closed beta keys for MMORPG action brawler Shadow Arena!

Who doesn't love trying out new games before everyone else does?? No one, that's who. Why wouldn't you want to get in on?? the action earlier than the unwashed masses? It's madness.

Shadow Arena is getting a closed beta later this week, and we've got a bunch of ??keys to hand out so you can give it a whirl. So, just take o??ne already!

Shadow Arena is an MMORPG set in the Black Desert universe. 40 heroes duke it out in an ever-shrinking arena filled with computer-controlled enemies, human opponents, and even a giant dragon (like, whoa). Battle it out using speed, spells, swords, or skills to survive not only your opponents, but the arena itself as the all-encompassing fog constantly shrouds the battlefield. Of course, only one can survive -- so just make sure it's you, y?eah?

Want to check it out? Simply take a key from the widget bel??ow. It's easy and free -- just like m??y love.

The closed beta period runs from February 27 - March 8, so claim one and try it out before the beta perio?d ends. Once the keys are gone, they'r??e gone!

Shadow Arena is current??ly in development, slated for an early 20??20 release.

The post Giveaway: Take a closed beta key for MMORPG action title Shado??w Ar?ena appeared first on Destructoid.

A truly great game that too many of us missed

Last weekend, after spending entirely too long sifting through filler on the Nintendo Switch eShop to try and turn up another afternoon co-op game, I found it: Wilmot's Warehouse, an ingenious little creation.

It's a video ga??me about an ever-expanding warehouse and our innate desire to categorize stuff.

Deliveries come in – some old, some new – and it's on you to put items in their proper place, wherever that may be. The sorting is entirely up to you. Not just the physical act of transporting items to their temporary home, but, like, naming them. That's the real game. That's what Wilmot is actually about.

These are some all-too-r??eal conundrums we faced in our ??playthrough:

• Is that item a mountain in front of a sunset, or a toupee?

• Should a compass go in "technology," or in "outdoors?"

• Why do we have candles and ladders in the "wallpaper" area again?

If you enjoy creative-thinking party games, you will dig Wilmot's Warehouse.

At regular intervals, you'll need to rush to deliver groups of items to impatient customers. The better organized you? are, the easier that task will be, and the more stars you'll earn for eventual warehouse upgrades. If you can make it all the way to the end, you'll have to deal with 200 differen?t types of items.

In other words, the game bounces between feeling like a zen garden and Concentration mixed with Perfection. It's largely soothing, but with occasionally frantic comm??unication to spice? things up.

_{Six hours later, just before the end credits, this is what our warehouse looked like.}

When Wilmot's Warehouse launched in August 2019 (for PC and Mac too), I told myself I had to get around to playi??ng it "sometime this year." I should've listened to past-me's advice sooner.

There aren't that many local? cooperative games on Nintendo Switch with simple controls and goals that can captivate a broad range of players. This one's up there, big time. I can't ??wait to play it again.

From the look of Steam user reviews, not many people have heard of this game, much less tried it out. I genuinely hope that turns around soon – it's far too good to go this unseen. If you find yourself in an impromptu co-op gathering during the holidays, give Wilmot some serious consideration. And if you're a PC or Mac player, it's the perfect opportunity to use Steam's Remote Play Together online feature.

The post Need a cozy co-op game? Wilmot’s Warehouse is just wonderful appeared first on Destructoid.

Put on your fanciest robe

Everyone's hiding something in The Shrouded Isle. As the spiritual advisor to a community of sinners and?? religious zealots, it's your job to appoint officials and guide the island's poor souls towards the awakening of their strange god. There are no easy choices. Appeasing a slumbering god means sacrificing villagers once a season and choosing a victim becomes more of a balancing act of needs and wants than a religious ceremony. No one ever said leading a cult is easy.

The path towards salvation is even more difficult in The Shrouded Isle's Sunken Sins DLC. In the free update, not only are players required to keep the titular isle's five ruling houses happy, but they also have to stop the spread of a strange contagion. In the real world, eradicating a mysterious disease might mean years of careful research and new medical breakthroughs. In Sunken Sins, purification comes from prolonged exposur??e to sa?lt water.

I spent a few hours with Sunken Sins to see if I still had what it takes to lead a village to their destiny. I dug the base game, with its mix of cultish themes, twisted characters, and gothic art direction. The Shrouded Isle's DLC feels more like an expansion than a small piece o??f new content. After two seasons, I found that the occult life I remembered had changed for the better.

Coaxing the villager's god now takes five years, instead of three. Two additional years means eight more sacrifices, which makes The Shrouded Isle much more difficult. Though it wasn't without some tough choices, I never had too much of a hard time completing the base game. Sunken Sins' extended timefram?e requires a bit more long-term planni??ng. Sinners that I would normally sacrifice right away sometimes got put on the backburner, squirreled away under my watchful eye for an upcoming season. 

The Shrouded Isle always felt like a seesaw of morally grey choices. In tasking players with managing a village's Penitence, Obedience, Ignorance, Fervor, and Discipline while balancing the satisfaction of five ruling houses and their deranged members, you get used to weighing the value of virtues and vices. Sunken Sins, through its extended campaign and mystery contagion, fur?ther muddied the sea salt soaked waters. 

After two regular seasons, players receive word that something's amiss among the ruling houses. Some illness is spreading slowly but surely, and it can only be stopped by reopening a forgotten tower once used for torture. By quarantining villagers and either examining their ailments or attempting to purify them through submersion, you can stay a few steps ahead of the illness' spread. Of course, being proactive doesn't mean the island and its residents are safe. Sunken Sins introduces extra afflictions -- statuses like "Perve??rt" or "Violent" which plague electable officials and affect the different faith categori??es -- that pop up much more frequently.

With the DLC's new systems, The Shrouded Isle falls into an uncomfortable but engaging flow. Beyond attempting to awaken the sleeping god, you're also responsible for purifying citizens who are acting peculiar. Instead of selecting a character to office for? one season, you can send them to the tower and submerge them. Doing so can cure whatever virtue-based affliction bothers them, but it may also allow someone to transcend their mortal flesh and become Awoken.

The Awoken state exists somewhere between "fish-person" and "some other Lovecraftian entity." They speak a garbled tongue a?nd are admired by the isle's population. Purifying anyone to the point of awakening is a noble cause, but it makes selecting a sacrifice even harder. The people will riot if one of their fish-faced frien?ds is cut down, and make it damn near impossible to keep order. Leaving them be, however, means selecting advisors -- and ultimately, sacrifices -- from a smaller pool.

When I first wrote about The Shrouded Isle, I called it a "gothic management simulator" for a good reason. It's an intensely bureaucratic game, and most of your time is spent picking and choosing leaders from a collection of people that are pretty awful humans. With the Sunken Sins DLC, the game feels more complex and robust. Almost everyone is st??ill wicked to the core, your path towards enlightenment is still littered with bodies, and now there are fish people to contend with, but hey, cult-life is ??supposed to be difficult.

The post The Shrouded Isle’s ‘Sunken Sins’ DLC adds fish-people and filthy vices appeared first on Destructoid.

Troubled early access waters give way to smoother sailing

_{[Chris already gave us his thoughts on Stormblood, but now that early access has cooled a bit, here's another opinion.]}

To say Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood caught the eye of newcomers, intermediate and advanced players alike might be an understatement. Four weeks ago,?? my mid-population server of Lamia saw an influx of new and returning players and as of Friday's early access the place is so packed there ??are waiting queues to log in. Not long in my case, but still there.

Stormblood is a big turning point for the FFXIV saga and the addition of Samurai and Red Mage only makes it more enticing. From the inception of FFXIV, the plight of Ala Mhigo and its refugees has been known to players. The nations of Eorzea have not been in a strong position to push the Garlean Emp??ire from Ala Mhigo wh??en the Empire and primals  (Ifrit, Titan, Shiva, etc.) have been threatening their own lands from the original release to present.

As the Warrior of Light, you even become something of a refugee yourself in the Heavensward expansion. At the close of the story, you are found innocent of your alleged crimes, have gained th??e Eorzean Alliance a new ally in Isghard and due to someone instigating a fight with the Empire, the Alliance has been dragged into a direct conflict and now seeks to liberate Ala Mhigo.

As with the initial attempt to liberate Ala Mhigo, the Stormblood ?early access was no??t without its tremendous roadblocks.

As of this writing, the issues I know of appear to have been resolved. FFXIV took on quite a load and apparently SE simply was not ready for the stress players would place on instancing servers. Quests that required use of instancing servers, suc??h as the Samurai job quest and main story quest "Best Served with Cold Steel" were difficult or impossible to access, as you were removed from the instance before you could start to complete your quest objective.

The Samurai job quest eventually was accessible, but until?? Sunday morning, I was completely unable to progress the latter quest.

So on Friday and Saturday, I simply decided to make the best of the situation and? check out other content. I tried the new jobs, some of the general job adjustments, quality of life changes and PvP improvements that came with the 4.0 update.

With the arrival of Stormblood, the FFXIV team has sought to trim the fat out of its ma??ny jobs as well as the requirements to unlock them. As an example, to become a Warrior you once had to level up Marauder to 30 and a Pugilist to 15. The latter requirement of a level 15 job has been removed for every original job. Now an Archer can directly progress to Bard and a Conjurer can become a White Mage with no fuss.

Jobs such as Dark Knight, Astrologian, Machinist, Red Mage and Samurai never had the baggage of the 1.0 version of the game attached to them, so the only prerequisite to obtain them is main story progression. The new Stormblood jobs, Red Mage and Samurai, require only that you clear A Realm Reborn's level 50 main scenario quest "The Ultimate Weapon" while the other aforementioned Heavensward jobs still require completion of ARR in its entirety to access the Heavensward content.

I can't hope to list all the changes to all the jobs, but each job has been given a unique meter that relates to how their job functions, in addition to new skills being added while others were changed or removed. My Warrior's offensive and tanking stances each have a meter now a??nd as I perform various attack combos, values of 10 and 20 are added to the meter for a maximum of 100 and can be spent on other, more potent attacks I've learned.

This comes with a catch, though. If I switch stances I lose 50 po??ints.

I was concerned about my ability to recover HP as SE had trimmed out a couple of Warrior's recovery skills, but the changes and spike damage gained in exchange seem to balance out the losses. I can now happily spam Fel?l Cleave, Inner Beast or Decimate three times in a row from level 60 and will gain a skill at 70 that halves the cost of using these attacks, meaning I could potentially drop six nasty Fell Cleaves on my enemies when I generate 50 points automatically by u?sing my Infuriate skill.

That said, these gauges are hit or miss in their usefulness. With Red Mage and Warrior, I get a useful, numbered readout of my progress toward special moves and conditions. With Monk and Scholar, I just get a larger, garish display that shows me three dots of "charges" for special skills that were previously communicated in small??er, more effective icons.

As for the new Samurai and Red Mage jobs, Samurai is currently positioned to be one of the most potent DPS classes in the game and has the most complex combo system in the game. By generating three symbols on their Sen gauge th?rough the use of various weaponskill combos, they c??an unleash some rather nasty attacks. 

Unlike many other DPS, however,? they don't offer much utility to their allies. They can buff their own attac?ks, but at present can't debuff enemies with their attacks to benefit others.

Red Mage combat is all about striking a balance in the use of white and black magic to amp up their rapier atracks. Defined as a ranged caster, a Red Mage doesn't simply run in  and start swi??nging their swords, but cast spells from mid-range before any damaging, swashbuckling swordplay can occur. They also posesses exclusive mastery of the Doublecast ski?ll, where their first spell can instantly be followed-up with another.

Strangely, they don't have access to curative magic out of the gate at level 50, but at 54 it becomes part of their arsenal. This is DPS class by design, though, so while a Red Mage can  toss out a heal in a pinch and even remove most status ailments at times, there are no full-party cures or raise spells in their arsenal (Correction: RDM gets a raise spell at 64).

As for other changes, PvP has been dramatically revamped. Weeks ago I would have described FFXIV's PvP as being about as fun as eating shards of glass, but this was largely due to having to fumble arou??nd my crossbar to find the attack I needed to use while 24 other people were trying to kill me.

Weaponskill and spell combos for all jobs have since been stacked into a single button or keystroke. Before I would have to tap three diff??erent buttons to perform a Warrior's Brutal Swing combo, now I just press the Circle button three times. I don't have to sift through multiple pages of skills on my crossbar to use what I want.

Finally, inventory space has been expanded for all players and mount speeds have doubled in certain areas provided certain main story requirements are met. Obsoleleted endgame currencies from Heavensward can be exchanged for tomestones of poetics that can now be spent in Idyllshire and swimming has been added to various areas in the game. Most swimming happens in Stormblood regions, but newer players can enjoy a small preview of the experience by taking a dip in Coasta De??l Sol over in the La Noscea region.

All in all, once the instancing issues were out of the way, Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood once again felt like the MMO I had enjo??yed the last several months and?? the Tuesday launch should go smoothly.

I've since made it to the far eastern city of Kugane, which is a pretty large, breathtaking locale. It's also brought some much needed splendor and humor to what has otherwise been a pretty grim story thus far. My next stop is Doma. Not that Doma. This one should have clean water.

At least I hope so.

The post A second opinion on Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood appeared first on Destructoid.

Touch the sky, but don't deadzone

VR has had a curious impact on the industry.

It's not mainstream yet. It's pricey. It's unwieldy. Yet, it's all executives and developers are talking about. We're not quite at the apex of the "revolution," but we do hav??e? platform wars currently raging full force with "big three" (HTC, Oculus, PSVR) -- and this is with many other suitors (like Google) waiting in the wings.

In my home though, it's welcome. Nine months later, and I'm still playing around with the Rift on a fairly regular basis. VR hasn't taken over my core console and portable habits just yet, but it's creeping in, especially after I got m????y hands on (and into) the Rift's motion controls.

Product: Oculus Rift Touch
Manufacturer: Oculus
Input: One USB 3.0 port
MSRP: $199.99 (pair of Touch controllers)

What's in the box:

As plain as day, everything you see in the above picture is what you'll get from the $200 box. There's two motion Touch controllers (more on those in a moment), a new sensor bar (which requires USB 3.0, and brings your sensor count to two), and a Rock Band adapter. I haven't had a use for the latter yet, but it's there, as are two AA ??batte?ries, one for each Touch remote.

Yes this means yet another USB port is taken up, bringing the Rift to a grand total of three USB and one HDMI. That hassle aside, the actual installation is just as painless as it was with the Rift proper. For the sake of testing I did try the new sensor in a USB 2.0 ??port, but found that it was a little more delayed in terms of tracking compared to the stellar performance on the suggest 3.0 port. So try to have a free one before you buy the Touch.

Setup:

After plugging in the new sensor, the Rift software automatically detects tha??t you own Touch Controllers, and prompts you to slip one AA battery into each remote. The battery covers are clearly marked, and are sturdy enough where they won't come undone accidentally, but can be p??opped off deliberately.

The UI then helpfully states which of the Touches is the left remote (if you couldn't figure it out already, it has the X and Y buttons), and which is the right -- pairing took all?? of 30 seconds for both controllers. How you handle the next step is entirely up to your ability to accommodate room-scale VR. Up until now, Oculus VR has suggested that you play the Rift sitting, b??ut with the Touch that changes. Oculus requests that you place the sensors three to seven feet apart (and have a 5x7 foot play space), which was easily done on my large desk (I had mine at roughly four feet). For those of you who maybe only have a tiny one-monitor setup, you might need to do some finagling (like placing end tables on the sides) or move to a bigger desk.

For those of you who are clumsy, there's a "Guardian System" feature that vibrates when you walk close to your desk, to prevent you from smashing into your monitors or flinging a sensor across the room. ?You can manually ?set these boundaries up yourself by "drawing" them wherever you wish.

The controller:

It's one thing to imagine how well the Touch controllers work, and another to actually feel it. It's a crazy 1:1 translation of your hand movements, especially the grip, which ?feels comfortable and mimics the movement of each finger. For most games with Touch support you can actually point with your index fin??ger, and it will instantaneously detect your real finger and let you perform contextual actions like poking things in-game. The triggers are just perfect, as you don't have to expend too much effort to press them in.

Deadzoning can be frustrating and take you out of the experience, so there's more work to do from an R&D perspective that front. The sensors, as technically advanced as they are, still feel primitive when compared to the tech inside the actual Touch remotes. They can only detect the area in which you place them, so if there's an item you want to grab that's just out of reach, you're out of luck.

This is why some titles have a crutch like "psychic Jean Grey powers" that let you pickup things that would otherwise send you into the deadzone. Or, request that you turn with the analog sticks instead of actually twirling around constantly, no doubt related to the other limitation of the headset being linked by way of a Matrix-esque cord coming?? out of your head. I hope this is smoothed out in the future by sensors with a wider array and wireless headsets, because picking up menial items like papers or files and organizing them is way more fun than it sounds -- and I want even more freedom while doing it.

All ??of these stopgaps have led me to believe that once manufacturers can solve these problems and further subsidize the price, we m??ight actually see more VR devices in more homes. For now, it's still a niche hobby that I'm happy to partake in.

The games:

As expected, a lot of the initial offerings (which you can view in full here) range from "tech demo" to "this is a real game I'd pay money for." But for the first time I feel like the Rift is at that point where it can "sell" VR to the mainstream. I had my wife play the puzzle-centric I Expect You to Die, and despite not being wowed by?? the concept of sitting down and playing VR games with a controller earlier this year, she liked the idea of tryin??g something she's never done before -- even at a theme park.

For years I've been trying out so-called "VR" games at places like Disney Quest in Orlando, Florida, as well as the mostly def??unct ESPN Zone, but they were basically just strapping a TV to your head. But with room-scale VR, some talented developers have been able to reach a level of immersion that has taken aback nearly everyone I've introduced the device to.

Many of those launch Touch games are still in early access, so much of ??VR is still the "promise" that's?? been given to us for years on end now (the same goes for the Unity demo-heavy Steam storefront for the Vive, or the staggered launch for PSVR), but for me at least, it's already there.

The verdict:

I appreciate that VR has already provided us with multiple ways to control and experience video games in its relatively short consumer-grade lifespan. You have your traditional remotes like the Xbox One controller for the Rift, ?the DualShock for the PS4, and motion controllers for all three major devices. This not only allows the developers freedom, but provides fresh experiences for all of us to play with, and helps keep VR as a whole more interesting.

But I'm not going to act like the Touch remotes aren't expensive as hell, because they are. $200 smackeroos is a lot, especially since the headset itself is $600. That puts it in line with the $800 HTC Vive, and while Oculus had the higher ground of boasting a cheaper price point at launch, th?ey're now both?? pricey prospects.

If you're already into your Rift a??nd still play it regularly, I'd go for the Touch. Otherwise wait for a 2.?0 version or another cheaper bundle.

_{[This review is based on hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: Oculus Touch appeared first on Destructoid.

That familiar feel

While the Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 Gaming Headset sat atop my head for the last few weeks, the DeathAdder Elite mouse has been under my right palm, clicking away to navigate both virtual battlegrounds and web pages alike. It's the next iteration in the DeathAdder line, last seen in Chris' review of the DeathAdder Chroma. There ?are a few small differences that set this mouse apart from past incarnati??ons, and while I'd be hesitant to recommend upgrading if you already have a unit from this line, the DeathAdder is popular for a reason.

Between the Elite's comfortable design, chunky thumb?? buttons, and pleasant-to-the-touch matte plastic and textured rubber, I'm not surprised that people keep returning to the Death?Adder series.

Product: Razer DeathAdder Elite
Manufacturer: Razer
Input: USB 2.0
MSRP: $69.99

Like most gaming mouses, the Elite is built for your right hand. Though Razer has made left-handed DeathAdders in the past, for now you'll have to adjust to using your non-dominant hand if you're a witch. It's got a nice low profile so that you can use either a claw grip or a palm grip comfortably, and the smooth material atop just feels nice underneath my hand. Both the sides (where your thumb, ring finge?r, and pinky rest) have a rubberized texture, as does the scroll wheel for extra grip. But that's all stuff that's been in this particular series of gaming mice for some time.

As far as what's new, there's a better sensor that has a high of 16,000 DPI (dots per inch) and two additional buttons under the scroll wheel, bringing the mouse to a total of seven buttons. Those new switches default to on-the-fly sensitivity adjustments, which esports players especially have been using as of late for situational aiming changes. Those are the only major changes, which is why you may not want to upgrade if you already have a DeathAdder. Unless, of course, you're an esports player who needs that extra DPI to mak?e hundreds of thousands of dollars, in which case I hate you a little bit. Don't worry, I'm just jealous. Moving on...

Using Razer's Synapse software, you can create different profiles and allocate different actions to each button, from macros to Windows shortcuts. You can also change polling rate, acceleration, and tune to whichever surface your mouse is on for best performance. This is also the place to adjust your pretty pretty RGB lighting, which can be configured to 16.8 milli?on different colors and sync up with your keyboard (my headphones and mouse are a lovely shade of pink as we speak).

There aren't really any issues with the Elite. Given how well made it is, whether you'll like it or not entirely comes down to preference and what you're going to play with it. While it skews towards action games by having fewer buttons, it still performs admirably in other genres. However, if you're the type of player who likes to have a million keys in your right hand for macros and to offload most of the action off of your keyboard, there are better choices, including the Naga Chroma. While the Naga is $30 more expensive, it might be more up your alley depending on what you play. Personally, seven buttons is all I'll ever need? for games.

At $69.99, DeathAdder Elite may seem pricey for a mouse that doesn't have any kind of revolutionary "look at me!" feature, but it's well-constructed, comfortable, and nice and unde??rstated compared to most gaudy PC hardware. If you're ready to upgrade from something basic, this is a strong choice. If you already ha?ve a similar unit, I'd recommend sticking to what you have as the Elite is an iterative upgrade in the DeathAdder line.

_{[This review is based on retail hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: Razer DeathAdder Elite appeared first on Destructoid.

Free up a hand to masturbate while you MOBA

If you're lik??e me, you've probably thought about how easy it would be to play a MOBA with one of those fancy MMO mice with tons of?? buttons, freeing up a hand to do all kinds of fun activities.

Well now you can with the SteelSeries Rival 500. It was designed with that very task in mind, having 15 buttons on-board. Whether or not you enjoy it will come down to preference and if you can accept the drastic c??hange.

Product: SteelSeries Rival 500 mouse
Manufacturer: SteelSeries 
Input: One USB 2.0+
MSRP: $79.99

One might think the Rival 500 is the cheaper version of the Rival 700, but you'd be wrong. While the two mice share the same configurable RGB lights, similar aesthetics, and tactile feedback on your palm (for Dota 2, Counter-Strike: GO, and a modified version of Minecraft only), they are pretty different.

The 500 is a very wide mouse (probably to accommodate all the buttons) that felt a smidgen too big even for my giant hands, so using it for more than playing MOBAs felt a bit uncomfortable at first. Eventually, I did get used to it. As for the 15 configurable buttons? They work but I had a hard time adjusting to playing Battlerite and League of Legends (ugh, this mouse got me to reinstall t?hat toxic cesspool) just due to muscle? memory.

The button placement can be slight??ly intimidating as well, considering six of them alone surround your right thumb, with three above, one behind, and two below. The two lower buttons were probably my favorite part of the mouse. They curve out, and it felt nice to naturally rest my thumb on them while being able to quickly press them as needed. Some I just never felt comfortable using, like th??e buttons that sat behind my thumb and the ones off to the side of the left and right clicks. The buttons by the clicks felt especially out of reach due to the sheer wideness of the mouse.

The Rival 500 feels more like something you'd use to alleviate action from your left hand instead of outright replacing it, and that is what I found myself mostly doing while playing MOBAs with it by mapping a few lesser-used keys that are typically harder to reach while playing normally. It's certainly not a bad mouse, but it is a bit too large with some awkward button placement for my liking. I've since gone back to the SteelSeries Rival 700, which has been my daily driver ??since I?? originally reviewed it.

_{[This review is based on the retail hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: SteelSeries Rival 500 Mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

Force feedback in a mouse

As someone who has played first-person shooters on consoles the majority of my life, I've only recently attempted to make the switch to mouse and keyboard. This is largely thanks to many PC versions of games being generally better than their console counterparts, but after playing a 16-hour Overwatch s??ession, I realized one feature I missed from using a trad??itional controller: rumble.

Haptic feedback is something I had grown accustomed to in the console space and relied on heavily, especially since many games are bad at givi??ng you visual cues these days. As it turns out, th??ough, SteelSeries has a mouse for people like me. The Rival 700 features a form of force feedback. The trick is you have to play one of three games that are currently supported by the device.

Product: SteelSeries Rival 700 mouse
Manufacturer: SteelSeries 
Input: One USB 2.0+
MSRP: $99.99

I've been using the Rival 700 for roughly a month and I have to say it feels great. After coming off an older laser mouse from a competing manufacturer, the optical sensor that comes standard here blows my old mouse out of the water, which surprised me as I'd always been told since my days in retail that laser is the way to go; turns out that isn't the case at all and I was?? just taught to lie to customers so my corporate overlords could get more money. Suddenly, slowly moving my cursor became buttery smooth, instead of bopping around a smidgen like with my old?? outmoded cursor.

SteelSeries has loaded the Rival 700 with personalization options, including extra customizable buttons, two customizable lights, and a tiny OLED screen. Three buttons surround where your thumb?? naturally rests, each of which can be programmed to do whatever you'd like them to, but, by default, they work as forward and back keys that I never found myself using. A third button behind the scroll wheel changes the mo??use's CPI settings, which is extremely useful for those moments when you need a nice slow, smooth movement for getting headshots with a sniper, before switching back to frantic close range combat. 

While I didn't find the OLED screen useful, I can see how someone would. Using the included SteelSeries Engine 3 software, users are able to customize and design personal images and gifs to play. which sounds way cooler than it looks in action. As I have no artistic ability I'd hope the software included a few options, instead, it just had the default SteelSeries logo available. There are a series of eight different options available to download off the mouse's official site, and while I appreciate the spinning Nicholas Cage head that now constantly plays on the side of my mouse, they leave a lot to be desired.

That isn't the only use of the OLED, as it works in conjunction with GameSense, a part of Engine 3. The screen can automatically display things like your kill death ratio, ammo, health and even the number of headshots you've tallied up, at least if you're playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as it is one of the three games SteelSeries supports. The others games are the popular free-to-play MOBA Dota 2, and a specially-modified version of Minecraft. I tested out the feature in CS:GO but I didn't see much benefit, as I rarely foun??d myself glancing down at my hand while playing, as you ??might expect.

Haptic feedback also only works with the three aforementioned games, none of which I play on a regular basis -- essentially rendering the feature useless to me. While you can customize the Rival 700 so pressing any of its buttons gives feedback, that is more of a novelty than anything. I have it set so left clicking gives a fast 'tick' feedback, while right clicking is a double click kind of vibration, because why not. I suppose the feature is great if you play one of those games, being able to feel yourself taking damage and the likes, but otherwise, the feature is just about useless. Also, I should note the vibratio??ns of a very light vertical motion just on the palm of your hand, thus they thankfully don't impact gameplay at all.

Feel wise, the Rival 700 fits nicely in my admittedly large? palm, and the texture and functionality of all the buttons, including the click and scroll wheel are great. If I had to levy one minor complaint against it, the scroll wheel unfortunately has little notches it fluctuates between instead of free rolling, unlike my previous mouse that let you switch between modes and was extremely handy in everyday use.

For $99, the Rival 700 is a comfortable wired mouse with plenty of fancy (but mostly useless) visual customizations and tactile feedback that works with just three games, snd comes with two different cables to connect the mouse to your computer: one braided, one rubber. Optionally, you can purchase a laser sensor and quickly swap out the optical sensor with just four screws, or a set of interchangeable covers for the mouse that make it glossy or cover up the ?light on the palm.

While enjoyable, I still find it hard to recommend for those who are already rocking a gaming mouse they are comfortable with just for the tactile feedback and OLED screen. Well, unless you play DOTA 2, CS:GO, or Minecraft. Then yeah, you need ??this mouse. Otherwise, you're paying for extra features you're not going to find valuable.

_{[This review is based on the retail hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: SteelSeries Rival 700 Mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

The cavalry

Overwatch is nearly here, and as is the case with any Blizzard game, a suite of hardware is coming along with it. While SteelSeries had the honors last time around with Heroes of the Storm, Ra?zer is up with several new additions? to their lineup.

Du??e to numerous requests from readers, I pinged Razer to see what the newest set on the block is all about.

Overwatch Razer BlackWidow Chroma keyboard ($180 MSRP)

I have a weird relationship with mechanical keyboards. When it comes to gaming, I love them. But when I'm writing up hundreds of words per day, that clicking sound, even the muted version from some of the more modern keyboards, is painful to me. I know a lot of people who don headphones to alleviate it, but sometimes I like to just hunker down in silence (well, it would be silent if I whipped out my traditional set of keys). Alas, the ??;BlackWidow Chroma has convinced me to stick arou??nd -- at least until I have a nervous breakdown.

It took a few days to get used to a mechanical setup again, but lo and behold, I did it. The general feel of striking each individual key is jarring at first, but the conceit really does help when it comes to precision -- especially if you're having latency issues. With mechanical buttons every single key has a switch, ensuring that when you press that button, it actually initiates the required action. This has been the case, flawlessly, for every game I've played with it, and it's especially useful for twitch-based first-person shooters (like Overwatch) and MOBAs.

In terms of frills, the Chroma packs in a few decent extras (which is just as well, for the price). A function key can trigger a selection of OS-related niceties, like volume and playback controls, as well as an instant-on for "gaming mode" -- a setting that restricts the use of Alt + Tab, Alt + F4, and th?e Windows Key (all of which can be toggled individually).

The Synapse software that comes with the unit also allows for backlight customization (40 base colors along with a slider) and a brightness setting, which can b?e turned off entirely (in general, or when a display is turned off). Users can also click on any key within the software and alter it with another key or mouse function, or cause it to trigger an application launch or a macro.

Multiple profiles can be saved, and swapped with one of 10 function key-linked shortcuts. I only ended up us??ing?? two myself, but long term I'm ready for a lot more.

Overwatch Razer DeathAdder Chroma mouse ($80 MSRP)

I've gone back and forth when it comes to mice for years. Ages ago I was partial to a really good Microsoft unit, which is usually backed up by a trusty Logitech model. Every so often depending on the titles I play I go back to gaming mice from either SteelSeries or Razer, both of which have treated me well as a general rule. So naturally, going back to a DeathAdder in the form of the Overwatch Chroma was an easy switch.

I really like the scroll wheel in particular, which is stocked with a rubber grip. It's easy to get overzealous when it comes to scrolling, and I've found that the DeathAdder has a great balance overall. The custom lighting on the scroll wheel is cool, but ultimately forgettable as it's so muted -- though the Overwatch logo is neat looking, and can be turned off at will. Comfortable grips on the sides also help make it mo???re bearable for prolonged use.

Button-wise the DeathAdder isn't all that complicated, so I wouldn't use it for hardcore MMO raiding or even more complicated shooters, but for Overwatch, it's perfect. Two buttons on the side (which can be linked to abilities or melee) can be assigned ?or macroed, along with the standard lef??t/middle/right-click options. Both ancillary buttons are located on the left side, so the muscle memory requirement is fairly light.

Just like the BlackWidow, the DeathAdder a?lso plays nice with the Synapse software. I was able to create a custom profile for each game, adjusting DPI sensitivity rates (100 to? 10,000) and mouse acceleration at will. Its cloud-save capabilities also worked great when transferring my hardware over to my laptop for testing.

Overwatch Razer Goliathus Speed pad ($34.99 MSRP)

Initially I thought that I could throw it on the "things I don't need" pile, but I really got used ?to it over time. In short, it's a giant pad that's meant to accompany both a mouse and a keyboard, and at 36 inches wide, you'll need a bigger desk to take advantage of it. On my end I have a tri-monitor setup, so it's pretty much perfect.

Razer boasts an "anti-fraying stitch?ed frame" (which I tested by beating th??e mat on a rough service) and an anti-slip rubber base, which I've found to be accurate. What I really liked about the base in particular is how sturdy it is from just about any angle. Sometimes I like to move my keyboard up a bit off the edge of the desk, and even if just part of it is on the mat, it stays put.

In terms of aesthetics I dig the black color scheme, which features a small Razer logo in the bottom left-hand corner along with the Overwatch title, with a logo on the right. It's minimal enough without feeling like you're repping a brand, and I think I'm starting to really cozy up to the idea of using this monstrosity for the near future. This is such a me thing, but since I pr??actically live at my desk I also tried to see what would happen if hot soup warped the surface at all, and within a week of testi?ng, I haven't noticed any damage.

The benefit of testing this suite altogether is that everything works in tandem. There's an option to instantly sync lighting color choices to both devices, and an extra sensitivity option for when you're using the Goliathus pad or a desktop. While I've had mixed results in the past with some Razer devices, there's very little in the ??way of downsides here outside of a lack ?of complexity on the mouse.

_{[These hardware reviews are based on a retail equipment provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Overwatch Razer BlackWidow, Deathadder Chroma, & Goliathus Speed appeared first on Destructoid.

Low price shouldn't mean low quality

Gaming peripherals, on the whole, can be pretty dang expensive. If?? it isn’t a £150 keyboard, it’s a £200 pair of headphones, or maybe even an £800 VR headset. Add all the different bits-and-bobs you need together, and PC gaming turns into a very expensive prospect even before you’ve bought the PC itself.

Thankfully, most manufacturers tend to have a few lower-cost items in their ranges to compensate for this. At about £30, the Roccat Kiro ambidextrous gaming mouse falls firmly into that market. Unfortunately, even at the?? relatively low price, it's still incredibly hard for me to recommend.

Product: Roccat Kiro modular ambidextrous gaming mouse
Manufacturer: Roccat
Input: One USB 2.0+
MSRP: £34.99/$39.99

While the build ??quality of the Kiro is by no ?means the worst I’ve ever seen for a mouse, it’s also not particularly impressive.

On the plus side, the material the shell is made out of is nice. It feels like a half-way point between plastic and rubber that is both? comfortable to hold and ??prevents sweaty palms. The programmable RGB lighting (because this is 2016, and every device has to have RGB lights somewhere) is bright and vibrant, too. The Kiro definitely looks the part of a gaming mouse, I will give it that.

Unfortunately, those good points don’t make up for the Kiro stumbling where it matters most. It’s a somehow light?-feeling mouse despite weighing a pretty standard 103 grams, the cable is flimsy and unbraided, and it has some of the worst, glossy plastic feet I’ve ever seen. These three problems all come together to mean that when not being held, for example when going to type something, the cable can actually push the mouse around depending on your setup, resulting in some major cursor drift.

The form of the Kiro takes some getting used to. I’ve been testing it for about a week now, and it too??k three days for my hand to stop cramping while playing fast-paced games. It’s a bit on the small side (12.6cm long), which means people with bigger hands may find their fingers often poke out over the top of the buttons when using a standard palm grip. I tend to use a palm/claw hybrid grip, which works better, but it still feels small to me.

The on-the-fly DPI switch is placed underneath the scroll-wheel, which normally wouldn’t be a problem, except the button is so gosh-darn sensitive. My wide (read: chubby) fingers tend to accidentally hit the switch, sending the mouse’s sensitivity haywire. In a game like Devil Daggers, that is easily one of the fastest ways to die.

One of the neater fea??tures of the Kiro is the modular flanks. Each flank has two decent macro buttons, but if you don’t like them, you can pop them off to be replaced with included, button-less alternatives.  

Roccat advertises this as letting you make the mouse left- or right??-handed, but the different sides don’t actually change the form of the mouse in any meaningful way. It’s still an ambidextrous mouse with removable buttons, no matter how you configure it.

The sensitivity of the Kiro can be a problem. While the sensor offers up to?? 8200 DPI and a 1000Hz max polling rate, I’ve noticed a lot of weird glitches. Trying to click very specific sections of the screen (such as when highlighting text) can be difficult as the cursor sometimes either jumps all over the place or doesn’t want to move at all.

This is where those damn feet get in the way again, as they massively reduce the device’s accuracy on top of the already present glitches. The feet provide absolutely no grip, so virtually any pressure put on the mouse can make it slide around both on my fabric gaming mousepad and my glossy desk surface. Games that require careful and deliberate aiming are an absolute nightmare, as even just the act of clicking can frequently shift the mouse off-target.

My final problem with the Kiro is one I also raised with both the Nyth and Ryos: Swarm. Swarm is t??he configuration program required to rebind the macro buttons, set DPI stages, and choose the RGB lighting, but actually getting it to work can be incredibly hit-and-miss. I had to completely remove and reinstall Swarm when plugging in the Kiro (much like I did when plugging in the Nyth previously), and even then it took a few software restarts before Swarm would detect the mouse even existed.

Once the Kiro was picked up by Swarm, set??tings would sometimes decide to not save, which makes trying to configure a gaming mouse with a lot of macro buttons awkward at best, and frustrating at w??orst.

I hate to say it, but I’m really disappointed with the Kiro. The previous Roccat equipment I’ve reviewed has been great (I’m even typing this up on a Roccat keyboard). But the Kiro’s major design flaws make it a frust?rating,?? unpleasant mouse to use. For this price, there are definitely much better choices you could be making.

The post Review: Ro??ccat Kiro modul?ar ambidextrous gaming mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

I hope you're in the mood for some macro keys!

You’d be forgiven for thinking MMO mice are a daft idea. Taking a perfectly good mouse and ramm??ing in a load of tiny buttons right where your thumb sits sounds like it would be a rec??ipe for disaster.

At least, that’s what I thought until I got my hands on the Roccat Nyth modular gaming mouse. This thing’s great.

Product: Roccat Nyth modular MMO gaming mouse
Manufacturer: Roccat
Input: One USB 2.0+ Port
MSRP: $119.99

In my experience, a lot of peripherals built aro?und their ‘mo??dular’ or ‘customisable’ design tend to be lacking in build quality because of it. The Nyth is a nice change of pace, as every component feels sturdy and well-built. The matte plastic, chunky thumb buttons, and the thick braided cables all look and feel really nice, and are exactly what I’d expect at this price.

The form of the mouse is mostly comfortable to hold. It’s huge, whi??ch is perfect for my giant ogre hands, and it’s well-shaped for a claw/palm-hybrid grip. I’ve been using the Nyth for about five days now and haven’t had any sort of cramping or discomfort, even in the early few hours of adjusting to it.

As a nice added bonus, the right flank of the mouse is attached magnetically and can be easily removed and swap??ped with an included, chunkier one if you like your mice to be a bit wider.

Unfortunately, that comfort is betrayed by a large, obtrusive? macro bar placed in the dead-centre of the mouse. It gets in the way quite often, especially when trying to use a full palm grip or while using the scroll wheel. It ??feels like an unnecessary addition that’s just there to bump up the advertised amount of macro buttons.

The main feature of the Nyth is the 12 macro key slots on the left flank. They’re meant to provide quick and easy access to hotbar skills in ??MMOs, but they can be rebound using the Swarm configuration software to do whatever you like, both in Windows itself and in-game.

Roccat has somehow managed to fit 12 relatively large keys on the side of the mouse without them becoming a major hindrance. They’re just firm enough to prevent accidental presses, and they&??rsquo;re large enough to cut down on mashing multiple buttons with my already mentioned ogre hands.

What’s more is that you’re able to physically remove and swap the keys around with alternative ones included in ??a small case.

The process for removing the keys can be a bit fiddly. There’s a latch, which when held makes all the keys fall out, and then replacing them requires you to ??match up the right numbers with the right sockets. But even after all of that, being able to replace two keys I don’t use with one double-width button is a feature I really like. My current setup includes eight standard buttons for MMO hotbars, and then two wider ones for my screenshot and video recording macros.

Adjusting to an MMO mouse in World of Warcraft feels a lot like learning to use an arcade stick in a fighting game. At first, I was all thumbs, had no idea where any of the buttons were, and ended up gen??erally frustrated with the experience. But with time, I learned how to use the keys correctly, and now I don’t think I could ever go back to any other control scheme. It’s efficient and easy to use, and not having to throw my hands all over the keyboard for skills can cut down on potential fatigue, too. Lovely.

Fancy buttons aside, the Nyth stands up as a great mouse in its own regard. The Swarm program lets you set the DPI to a maximum of 12,000 (as well as five individual DPI stages for the on-the-fly switching), and set the polling rate to up to 1,000 Hz max. I tested it on my fabric gaming mousemat and a glossy surface, and both seemed to be equally accurate and responsive. I’ve broken more than a few personal bests on Devil Daggers with this thing.

My only problem in regards to the functionality of the Nyth is one that I also encountered on the Roccat Ryos MK FX keyboard: the Swarm configuration program. It’s required to install the device’s firmware and tinker with its settings, but getting it to work in the first place can be difficult. I had to reinstall Swarm numerous times just to get the keyboard to work, and then introducing the Nyth caused even more problems. Sometimes settings just flat-out didn’t want to save, which can be incredibly frustrating after spending a long time?? calibrating the mouse.

Al?l in all, I’m still really, really impressed with the Roccat Nyth. While it does have some software and ergonomic problems, it’s managed to win me over to the idea of MMO mice. Turns out jamming twelve keys onto a mouse doesn’t necessarily compromise the quality of the mouse itself!

If you play a lot ?games that require you to use all of your keyboard’s num?bers, or even if you just want a lot of free macros to work with, for its cost the Nyth is an absolute no-brainer.

[This review is based on retail hardware provided by? the manufacturer.]

The post Review: Roccat Nyth modular MMO gaming mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

Unique layout, small oversights

Until Roccat's Kova gaming mouse arrived on my des??k this week, I had never actually heard of the company before. That's a shame, because there are a bunch of unique and interesting aspects of their gaming mouse desi??gn that set them aside from the competition.

The Kova is n?ot the greatest gaming mouse I've ever used, but it certainly fills a spot in the market previously not catered to.

Product: Roccat Kova Gaming Mouse
Manufacturer: Roccat
Input: One USB 2.0+ Port
MSRP: $49.99

On initial inspection, the Kova appears to be a fairly standard ambidextrous mouse. Equally c??omfortable in both hands, the curves on the design make a fairly compact device?? feel larger than it actually is.

Much of its design is similar to the Razer Deathadd??er, a shooter mouse through and through. Two thumb buttons on either side are positioned for easy secondary action reach, with a DPI selector button just above the fairly standard scroll wheel.

The included DPI button lets you change movement sensitivity from the mouse, but only allows cycling through modes in a set order. To go down one setting, you will hav??e to go up through every other setting.

The fanned-out rear of the mouse helps suppo??rt its ambidextrous design, and the cord is roughly two meters long which is decent, i?f slightly shorter than its competition.

What makes the Kova's design particularly unique is the presence of two additiona??l buttons to either side of the left and r??ight click, positioned for easy access with your standard hand placement.

It also features coloured lighting on either side o?f the mouse wheel and shining from the rear of the mouse onto your desk surface.

This is a decently comfortable mouse, built well for both claw and palm grippers alike. The thumb buttons are large and responsive enough to be user friendly, but not so sensitive that you need to worry about accidentally using? them unintentionally.

The standard six-button layout, with up to nine available depending on grip style, puts i??t squarely between the layouts of shooter and MOBA mice in terms of functi?on and spot in the market. If you're looking for a comfortable middle ground between the two styles, this is a really good, reasonably priced option.

The included software offers a huge suite of mechanica?l customisation options, but is incredibly cluttered and complex to work with. The lighting options ??on the device are also severely limited when compared to Razer's customisation settings.

While the Kova fails to really shine in any regard, it's a decent mouse at a reasonable price point with a button layout in between shooter and MMO/MOBA mice. If that sounds like your deal, you're probably not going to go too?? far wrong with the Kova.

The post Review: Roccat Kova mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

Form factor, at a cost

When it comes to the gaming mouse market, there's a very mixed set of options available to pick from. There's ?simple mice with a few extra buttons, as well as angular monstrosities capable of being modified to the ends of the earth.

The Razer Diamondback fits more on the simple side of thi??ngs, but excels mostly in regards to its form factor. It's hard to co??mpare to any other mouse, just in terms of how it feels to hold and operate.

Product: Razer Diamondback Chroma Mouse
Manufacturer: Razer
Input: One USB 2.0+ Port
MSRP: $89.99

While most gaming mice are either a symmetric??al egg shape for claw grippers or molded to a hand shape for palm grippers, the Diamondback is a long, thin, symmetrical mouse. It's long enough for palm grip use, but also not molded for either hand.

The mouse is functionally similar to most of Razer's line. There are seven buttons, including two on each side edge, and a clickable scroll wheel. The buttons are not the most high-end in the world, but they're decent enough for the average user. The scroll wheel is a little resistive and fa??irly loud. It's built much like most Razer mice in this same price range.

It's comfortable to use for long periods of time, however I did seem to be slightly more prone to hand cramps after six-hour-long gamin??g sessions. I found the mouse light and responsive, able to smoothly glide thanks to its reduced surface ?area. It does the basic job very well, with minimal fuss.

The mouse also ties in with Razer's Chroma lighting suite, meaning it lights up in all sorts of fancy colou?rs. If you have one of supported keyboards, you can sync up the lighting colours, and if you have one of Razer's keyboard surfaces, you can make that light up with clicks of this mouse. Many of the more fancy lighting patterns are too distracting to be practical, but the standard lighting effects are enjoyable to see.

Now, let's talk about the price. That's the big issue here. For almost $90, the Diamondback is a functionally ??minimalist ambidextrous mouse with a price tag that would be considered high for a complex, high-end mouse. Yes, it looks nice and ties in with? your other Chroma peripherals, but otherwise it's a standard peripheral with a higher-than-average price tag.

So y?eah, if you are already invested in the Chroma ecosystem, it's a nice mouse, but it's a hard sell for the price ??in isolation.

_{[This review is based on hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: Razer Diamondback Chroma appeared first on Destructoid.

My new favorite mouse

The last wireless mouse I used was an ancient Toshiba with a battery life of about thirty seconds. The colours on the plastic had all faded, my fingerprints had been permanently imprinted into the buttons, and I’m pretty sure it had a mind of its own. I died many times in Call of Duty: World at War because of that thing.

The experience put me off of wireles??s mice for a very long time, but now that I’ve had the chance to try out the Razer Mamba Chroma, I’m absolutely back on board. I’d even go as far as to say this might just be the best mouse I’ve ever used.

Product: Razer Mamba Chroma
Manufacturer: Razer
Input: One USB 2.0+ Port
MSRP: $149.99

The Razer Mamba Chroma is a right-handed mouse that is incredibly comfortable to use. If you’re a leftie, this will be entirely unsuitable. But for everyone else it’s just a dream to hold; it has the vertical profile and overall chunkiness needed to allow for a great palm grip, and the actual face of the mouse is tilted to the right to allow ??for a really nice holding experience. It is a bit on the heavy side, weighing a hefty 125g, but in normal use I haven’t found it any harder to throw around than other mice I’ve used.

While Razer does have a reputation for its peripherals sometimes lacking in build quality, the premium price of the Mamba Chroma definitely gets you that premium quality. The textured flanks and matte face, the braided cable, th?e bright lights, and the s?tylish charging dock-cum-receiver all just ooze quality. Oh, and it all comes in a really nice padded tin case, too. It’s the little things in life.

Under the hood things seem good too. While the mouse itself doesn’t boast any more features than something like the CM Storm Recon or the Cougar 450M, it feels a hell of a lot more pleasant to use. The buttons themselves are great and not at all squishy, with each giving a nice solid click when pressed. Time will ?tell as to whether this lasts, but so far I’m happy with the quality.

As you’d expect from even a mid-budget gaming mouse, th??e Mamba Chroma has a full configuration suite to let you change anything from the polling rate ??and DPI to the lighting scheme of the charging dock. It all works nicely, but it is at the end of the day your standard configurations suite that doesn’t do anything more than something like Cougar’s UIX.

The most impressive inclusion is a physical key to adjust the force required to press the Omicron Micro switches under the buttons. It’s fiddly as all hell to do, requiring you to jam the key into a whole and then twist it with very little leverage, but it’s still a g??reat feature for people who play twitch-based shooters or other games where minimising the already tiny travelling distance to fire would be beneficial. It’s not a feature most users will have to bother with, but for those wanting to eek every little advantage they can get out of the mouse it’s a nice inclusion.

The big difference between the Mamba Chroma and its little cousin the Mamba Tournament is that the Chroma is a wireless/wired hybrid mouse. If you plug in the included charging dock the mouse will work wirelessly. However, you can also plug the cable straight? into it to turn it into a wired device.

I personally don’t really see the point in using it as a wired mouse, though, because the battery life is immense. While Razer advertises 20 hours of continuous play on one charge, I’ve found that you’re looking at more around 30-35 hours of use. While there is a lengthy charging time (about 10 hours), in the 24+ hours I’ve been using it as my primary mouse, I’ve never seen it drop below 50%. Every couple ?of days just remember to stick it into the charging dock while you sleep or at work, and you’ll probably never have to worry about it running out of charge mid-game.

With a hilariously impractical maximum DPI of 16,000 (which can be lowered using the configuration software or the on-the-fly switch buttons) and a max polling rate of 1000 Hz, the Razer Mamba is an incredibly responsive mouse. There’s also a nice feature in the configuration software to let you control sensitivity for each axis individual?ly, which admittedly I don’t really see the poin?t in. It’s nice that it’s there, though!

Your mouse could have a polling rate of a bajillion hertz and be crafted from the ball sweat of Zeus himself, but if a wireless mouse has latency problems, the entire thing can fall apart and become a frustrating, unusable piece of t?ech. Fortunately, the Razer Mamba doesn’t seem to have any issues in the latency department and has remained just as steady and smooth as any wired mouse I’ve used.

I’m keeping the receive??r only inches away the mouse itself, but even when stood on the other side of the room I didn’t notice any notable drop in accuracy or responsiveness. It is worth noting that wireless range is very dependent on the sort of environment you're in, and I have read about others not getting great range at all from the Mamba. It isn't a problem I've had, but it's worth keeping in mind.

I don’t think I’ve ever been as impressed with a mouse as I was with the Mamba. It’s on the expensive side, which is going to be a prohibi??tive factor for a lot of people, but in this case yo??u absolutely get what you pay for.

It’s a high-quality piece of kit that looks great, is comfortable to use, has a ridiculously long battery life, and has enoug??h options to make sure things work just how you’d like them to. My trusty wired mouse I’ve used for the past 18 months has now been relegated to my emergency backup, because there’s no way I’m going back after trying this thing.

_{[This review is based on hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

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Feels a bit flimsy, but works great

I’ve never had much luck with gaming mice; either there’s too many moving parts and I break it, or the shape doesn’t fit my hands and feels uncomfortable to use. So when I got Cougar’s 450M ambidextrous gaming mouse, I didn’t quite know what to expect.

Fortunately, what I fou??nd was a mouse that is competent – if by no means perfect – that I would happily recommend to anyone looking for mid-range mouse with a lot of extra features, provided they can look past the few glaring problems.

Product: COUGAR 450M Optical Gaming Mouse 
Manufacturer: Cougar 
Input: One USB 2.0+ Port 
MSRP: $49.90

First, the numbers. With a maximum of 5000 DPI and a polling rate of up to 1000 Hz, the 450M is fantastically sensitive and responsive. Adequate mouse sensitivity is down to personal taste to an extent, but with that 5000 DPI maximum, I severely doubt anyone is going to find this thing too slow. I played about an hour of Far Cry 4 on it, and noticed absolutely no delay between me and the movement o??n-screen,?? which is great. 

Using Cougar’s UIX software, the 450M can support up to three different profiles that can contain everything from three DPI settings, which can be swapped between using the on-the-fly DPI switch button, to the more advanced settings like angle s?napping, lift distance, and polling rate. The amount of control you’re given over how the mouse works is utterly fantastic, and the UI is easy enou?gh that I was able to get it up and running just how I like it within a couple of minutes.

There are four extra macro buttons, two on either side, which can be bound to any function you like in UIX. Personally, I have my top left button bound to my screenshot key, and my bottom left bound to a particularly handy ‘sniper’ function, which lowers your sensitivity and allow you to line up shots more easily while it’s held.? I’ve seen this as its own advertised feature with a dedicated button on ?other mice before, so seeing it simply thrown in as an optional extra for any of those four buttons sure is nice.

The thing that surprised me the most, though, is how comfortable the 450M is to hold. I have the dubious luck of having huge ham hands, and so far I’ve very few problems with how the mouse sits. It’s big enough for me to comfortably hold it in a full palm grip without my fingers peeking out over the top of the buttons, which is something I’ve never been able to say about a mouse before. The easy-grip texture on the flanks of the mouse aren’t rough enough to be uncomfortable, but prov??ide just enough grip to make sure your hands don’t slip during gaming.

Unfortunately?, there are three minor negative points which do take away from the comfort somewhat. Firstly, the glossy finish of the mouse means that people with clammier hands may have trouble getting a decent, comfortable hold on it after a while. It also means if you’re a stickler for clean peripherals, you’ll be forever wiping off finger and handprints from it.

Secondly, the mouse is pretty dang thin, meaning the sides of my hand couldn’t get enough lift off of my coarse mouse mat and would wind up rubbing up against it. If y??ou have smaller hands, this might not be a problem, but I would’ve liked the mouse to be a bit wider just to reduce the contact area between my hand and the desk.

Lastly, the extra macro buttons on either side of the mouse are placed slightly too far forward for me. I have to stretch to hit the top button on either?? side, which can be uncomfortable if they’re bound to a function I need to use regularly or kept held during gameplay.

None of these ??are major, deal-breaking problems, but they’re thin?gs that also could’ve been easily avoided during the design process.

Build quality is a bit of a mixed bag, and is honestly where most of my complaints about the 450M lie. It’s not all bad, of course. The Omicron Micro switches under the b?uttons are really responsive and 'clicky,' with absolutely no smushing feeling when pressing?? them.

The mouse wheel is also one of the best I’ve ever seen, with it being coated in chunky tire-style rubber. The wheel isn’t set inside the mouse, but occupies a gap in between the two buttons, which makes it easy to clean from all angles. I never thought I’d give so many words to something as nondescript as a mouse wh?eel, but this one is serious??ly nice.

Unfortunately, the 450M feels more cheaply made than others in this price range that I’ve used, being made out of lightweight and glossy plastics that aren’t as resilient looking as I would’ve liked. For £40-50, I would want somet??hing strong and chunky that I know would last many intense gaming sessions, but I just don’t think the 450M would be able to stand the test of time.

The Cougar 450M Gaming Mouse is really nice in a lot of ways: i??t’s comfortable, responsive, and has a vast array of customisable settings. It’s just a shame that there are definite areas for improvement, mostly in the build quali?ty.

The mouse is the peripheral which gets the most use, so making s?ure you have one that both feels good and won’t die on you is important. If you spot this on even a slight d?iscount somewhere, I can wholeheartedly recommend you pick one up. At the price range it’s normally at, there are probably better alternatives out there.

_{[This review is based on retail hardware provided by the manufacturer.]}

The post Review: COUGAR 450M Optical Gaming Mouse appeared first on Destructoid.

A mouse and a pad, how about that

Once I find a mouse I like, I tend to stick to it for quite a while. Right now, I'm still using the Logitech G700s Rechargeable Gaming Mouse I picked u??p in April, a??nd it doesn't look like I'm going to switch anytime soon.

But I did come across a piece of hardware that I'll use for my extra machines, or in special cases given one of its neat tricks -- the Feenix 2014 Nasci?ta ??Gaming Mouse.

Product: Feenix 2014 Nascita Gaming Mouse
Manufacturer: Feenix
Input: USB
MSRP: $97

It must be said that the actual design of the Nascita is very simple, and Feenix's designers really know what they're doing without getting too flashy. There are very few buttons on this mouse (only two additional buttons including left/right click and the wheel) -- making it not so viable? for hardcore MMO fans, but suitable for action games and most FPS titles. It has a very sleek design that was slippery at first, but eventually became comfortable after a few hours of use. This is mostly due to the hyper s?oft anti-sweat material that won't hurt or cramp your hands -- I just wish it had a tad more grip.

The logo and the major buttons glow white when the mouse is plugged in, which gives the mouse a bit of character without turning it into an ugly neon-fest. All in all the Nascita is pretty compact, with a total weight of 114g. It has a great glide with its Teflon feet (which are? high in quality) and the mouse itself is very responsive based on my testing though OS and gaming use at a 1 ms response time. It also comes with a b?raided cable, which prevents tangling.

Besides the usual suspects, there are a few features that set this mouse apart from the get-go, including its customer support plan and the DPI switches on the mouse itself. When you receive the Nascita, it comes packed with a customer support card, with the name of your representative on it and all of the appropriate contact information (including Skype). It's a far cry from the typical "find the 1-800 number" inserts of many of its competitors, and a nice touch overall. The drawback is that you can only buy the mouse from Feenix "exclusively," eliminating a chance for a third-party retailer sale or c??ompetitive pricing.

But the big draw is the instant DPI manipulation, which Feenix refers to as "driverless." Simply put, there's an LCD monitor on the top left corner?? of the mouse that shows its sensitivity, and by pressing the special up or down DPI buttons in the middle of the Nascita, you can tweak it from 800 all the way to 8200. It's a really useful feature if you're playing a particularly twitchy FPS and need to switch mid-match, or for older games that may not have full sensitivity customization.

But as cool as that feature is, it's tough to justify the price without a number of bells and whistles found on other similar mice. For instance, there's no left or right scroll wheel functions like many Logitech mice. It's completely corded, so you don't have the option to go wireless even if you wanted to. The Nascita also lacks a number of extra buttons and customization, should you want to create macros for more ??in-depth games like RTS titles -- "driverless" has its advantages as you don't have to install another piece of bloatware, but it also sacrifices deep customization in the process.

In short, I won't be replacing my Logitech G2 anytim?e soon, but I'm happily enjoying the Nascita as an ancillary backup for my laptop. You just need to decide whether or not the price is fair fo??r you given the features it provides.

Product: Feenix 2014 Dimora Gaming Mousepad
Manufacturer: Feenix
MSRP: $36

I also had the chance to test out the Dimora Gaming Mousepad, which is a whopping 13x11 long. It's made of hard plastic with a minimalist logo o?n it, and it'll no doubt take up a decent chunk of a small desk. The good news is if you have the space, it clears out a nice area just for mouse, and it frees up a spot to put a drink on the pad itself.

The sound of the mouse on the pad itself is a bit grating at first, but eventually it settles in and there's minimal noise involved on the pad. It's also very stable, and didn't move at all even during so??me intense testing with a few FPS titles. It must be said that the Dimora is a luxury item through and through, but since I could accommodate the size of the pad, I ended up using it constantly.

It didn't blow me away or demonstra?te any sort of necessity on its part, but I don't have any real? complaints about the Dimora either. Should you need a mousepad at some point, this is a decent option.

The post Review: Feenix 2014 Nascita Gaming Mouse & Dimora Pad appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't let the odd design fool you

There's so many options for mi?ce out there, it's tough to narrow down what you actually need. With options for everyday use, gaming, image editing, and everything in-between, sometimes things can get confusing. Enter the Logitech G700s Rechargeable?? Gaming Mouse, which is built for precision.

As soon as I gripped the G700s, something felt a bit off. It's a rather bulky design t??hat doesn't look the best, but as we?? know, initial looks and impressions can be deceiving.

Product: Logitech G700s Rechargeable Gaming Mouse
Manufacturer: Logitech
Input: USB
MSRP: $99.99

My initial negative vibe with the G700s went away after a few short hours, as my hand had actually gotten used to the grip, and I found it extremely comfortable from then on out. The off-putting "lightning bolt" design can't be helped of course, but in terms of pure comfort, I was extremely surprised at the quality of the texture grip around my fingers, and the physical feedback from the material. Specifically, even the buttons f??eel great; there's a very light feedback on the thumb buttons that doesn't get too "clicky," but lets you know that you triggered it.

The G700s comes with a tiny nano-receiver that plugs into a USB port for the wireless connection, and a Micro-USB cable in case you need an extension for charging the AA rechargeable batteries. It ??is a normal cable and not braided, which was my only real complaint, since I've gotten used to the latter. Still, I haven't had any real issues with the cable itself -- it's fairly sturdy.

If you want to use a replacement cord, any micro-to-USB connection will work, making the mouse fairly flexible for use anywhere. During my testing, I had no iss?ues with the wireless connection or the cable, and the nano-receiver is a dedicated line, creating a 1ms latency that makes this mouse reliably accurate with no movement hiccups to speak of.

I was utterly confused at first as to why the scroll wheel was so sensitive, but then I found out the mouse featured dual mode scrolling -- meaning, you hit a button? near the wheel, and it switches the wheel's sensitivity. The wheel itself is metal??, and you can toggle notched mode with a quick press. By default the other buttons on the G700s allow you to raise and lower your DPI, switch profiles, change your resolution, and so on, but you can customize the twelve buttons (thirteen if you count the scroll wheel tilt) to anything else.

To my surprise, it was extremely responsive for a wireless mouse -- as in, one of the b??est I've ever handled. I mainly tested with FPS and RTS play, and the accuracy I experienced previously from image editing and everyday use translated over to gaming quite nicely.

Logitech Gaming Software (LGS) is supported for the G700s. You can utilize the software to build five profiles, which allow you to customize DPI settings, power modes, and multi-key macros. The mouse also houses a t??iny three light LED display on the left side (in plain sight and not blocked by fingers), which shows battery level in green.

It seems as if the mouse was designed more for performance than battery life, as the G700s will last around 8-10 hours with pure constant gaming use before you have to plug it in. That shouldn't be an issue for most competitive gamers though, who will have their mouse plugged in anyways for 100% reliability. For everything else non-gaming related, I was able to use it for days on end without a need for a single recharge.

I was previously using the Razer Mamba for my review rig, but over the course of a week of testing, I've slowly acclimated over to the G700s. It took a bit to get used to and doesn't look the prettiest, but it's extremely comfortable to the touch, especially now that I've slowly adjusted the settings to suit my needs. If you already have a G700, there may not be enough here to warrant an upgrade, but if you're in the market for a gaming mouse, Logitech is pretty much always a solid go-to -- the G700s included.

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