GGL received the Steelseries Ikari laser mouse many moons ago, but due to a review backlog, we were only able to open it up recently. Heidi Klum helped me with the review, and pardon the bad lighting, eh?
Competitive gamers are a rare breed. They demand performance, comfort and consistency above all else from their peripherals and systems, whether that’s an Xbox 360 or a PC. With that in mind, SteelSeries is readying the Ikari Laser Mouse, but before it comes out, the development squad wants you to know a few things.
In a vehement editorial at fragyou.net entitled “Don’t believe the hype – laser wasn’t meant for gaming (till now),” the development team laid bare the problems with conventional gaming mice. As with all marketing, they painted the new SteelSeries product in a favorable light. Check it:
All kinds of different manufacturers promise the Holy Grail when it comes to describing what their mice can do. Laser technology, 4.000 DPI, a high number of buttons, Burst-Fire-Button, glowing colors, gold-plated USB connectors and “always on hyper ultra something” are just some of the features that are offered to us, in the mouse manufacturers quest of making their potential customer one of the top gamers in the world. According to these companies every top gamer would be even better when using a 4.000 DPI laser mouse. “For gamers by gamers”, “created for gaming”, “the ultimate gaming mouse”, “hardcore gaming” – you’ll find all these statements, and many more, when browsing today’s gaming mice.
While I find myself agreeing with the development team on a few points, namely that the gaming mouse market has been overrun by ridiculous features, the editorial didn’t hit a bullseye with me. The answer lies in the first sentence of the second paragraph. Continued…
We’ve seen a boatload of mouse announcements as of late, so it’s only right that SteelSeries enters the fray with its new Ikari mouse. The Ikari, a right-handed, five button beast, is unique among the recently announced mice because it was developed with input from professional gamers.
Those gamers, part of the SteelSeries stable of sponsored teams (and all Counter-Strike players) built the mouse that they’d like to use. The result is a weapon with native 500hz refresh rates, changeable DPI, and a very large amount of teflon on the bottom.
The Ikari comes in two editions: an optical and a laser mouse. The optical is designed for FPS gamers who sweep the mouse quickly, while the laser is designed for RTS and MMO players who make small, quick adjustments to their mouse cursors.
After a long layoff, GGL Wire’s mouse reviews will return this month. Consider the SteelSeries Ikari added to the queue; we’ll find out if it’s good for you.
