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| Ideazon Reaper Gaming Mouse Review by Jonathan Trevisani,Computer Games Online  With so many gaming companies expanding their product lines into categories that we wouldn't normally see; Ideazon, the makers of the Zboard and Merc keyboards, has produced a gaming mouse to contend with the current gaming peripherals. Enter the Reaper; a jet black mouse made out of plastic and rubber and designed to impress. The Ideazon Reaper Gaming Mouse incorporates some nice features into a tight package that should appeal to gamers based on the price and capabilities.The look of the Reaper lends itself to the Razer series of gaming mice with its dark color scheme and sleek design. The Ideazon logo at the top of the mouse glows with red illumination that isn't distracting, but might garner attention from LAN attendee sitting next to you. The plastic is accented with rubber buttons and hand rest that blends perfectly for a comfortable and firm grip. The overall size of the mouse is a bit smaller then average and can lead to some issue with gargantuan hands and long fingers (I don't have a complex about it!). It is designed for right-handed use so lefties are left out in the cold again, but they are probably used to it by now. The mouse really doesn't have that much weight to it which could be a blessing or curse depending on your style of play. If you like to fling your mouse all over the place then this mouse will fly, but it lacks the sturdy feel of some "heavier" mice. The Reaper is equipped with a total of 7 programmable buttons for your gaming pleasure. The two standard mouse buttons on top are shaped slightly smaller than typical, but are very responsive and solid. The mouse wheel does not include the new tilt functionality, but it can be clicked down as an extra button. Right behind the mouse wheel is a button that switches the available DPI settings "on-the-fly". There are also three, count them, three thumb buttons along the left side for extra functionality. All of the buttons have a great feel to them and have the desired effect, although each is a bit small which could cause some inaccuracies down the line. Each of the programmable buttons become very useful in-game since a lot of functions can be tied to the mouse. Your thumb will have its work cut out for it since there are three buttons to keep track of. They are placed at a slightly awkward position since they are spaced out and go back pretty far. The front two buttons are fairly accessible, but the third button becomes a pain since it practically requires you to take your hand off the mouse in order to press it. The adjustable DPI settings switch between 400, 800, and 1600 DPI. This comes in handy when slight mouse movements are essential or broad strokes are called for. There is an indicator that pops up on screen to display the setting that is being activated so you know what "speed" you are traveling at. This is a nice feature, but should be an option since I don't want my video card worrying about a little window popping up in the middle of my game. It also doesn't have any customization of the specific DPI settings aside from the dedicated 400, 800, and 1600 DPI standards. You can customize the mouse settings to switch between two of the three standards, but you are always stuck with 400, 800, or 1600 DPI. Sometimes the gap between the two higher settings is a vast chasm that interrupts the comfort level of play. The Reaper utilizes a USB 2.0 connection for the fastest possible performance and its optical tracking gives it a very smooth feel. In fact, just about every feature of the mouse lend to a smooth mouse experience with the slick texture of the mouse and the easy-glide feet on the bottom of the mouse. The mouse wheel rolls along very quickly with a very slight clicking motion and all of the buttons respond with a solid push. One of the greatest advantages of the gaming mouse is the $40 price tag. The standard price for most gaming mice is well over $50 so you are getting quite a deal for the Reaper. The build quality and features are comparable with more expensive models and will offer frugal gamers a lot of options for a low price. The Reaper delivers in a lot of respects although it falls short with some odd button placement and a lack of some preferable options such as DPI customization and a tilt wheel. The smooth feel and the solid functionality of the Reaper should draw attention to itself and the low price tag should seal the deal. Overall score: 4 out of 5 write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Game News :: home page |