Posted 12/26/2008 at 2:21 PM By boothby
The Good: Great looks and quality. Exceptional integration with WoW.
The Bad: Price.
Summary: The SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse clearly is representative of the quality one associates with the SteelSeries name. It performs admirably, but may be a bit too WoW-focused for more casual gamers.
Full Review:
SteelSeries was recently granted the license to create a whole array of World of Warcraft-themed gaming peripherals. Gaming peripherals such as the World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse. Retailing for $99 dollars, this mouse is the ultimate peripheral for the hardcore World of Warcraft player.
DESIGN
MMO-gamer or not, you will most likely appreciate not only the plate-armor look this mouse has to offer but also its very slick lighting system. Using the configuration program, you can change the hue (16 million possible colors), intensity, and strobe frequency of the inner lighting. The light shines out of the 'chinks' in the 'armor' and when set to a cool blue hue, resembles the eerie glow effect found emanating from many mobs in the new Wrath of the Lich King-added land of Northrend. The mouse has a unique appearance, with two hand rests for extra comfort as well as a braided chord cable which is a SteelSeries trademark at this point. The braided chord does not tangle up easily and is far more durable than standard plastic insulation. 
INSTALLATION
Installing the mouse is very simple and should be a snap for anyone who has had to install a gaming mouse on their PC before. Simply install the software and then plug it in. You will be up and ready to go quicker than a Murlock can gurgle. SteelSeries has decided to not include a disk with the drivers/config utility in the box, relying on customers to download it from their website before hand. This is a nice move and shows a sense of eco-friendliness that many companies lack. When you know as well as I do that the software is bound to be updated at some point anyway, why bother put it on a disk.
PERFORMANCE
As hinted at earlier in the 'Design' section, this mouse comes with one very easy-to-use, World of Warcraft themed configuration utility. It will come preset with a ton of game macros and commands already, but it is fully customizable. The mouse has fifteen programmable buttons on it, so if you need to macro something, chances are you will find a place to assign it. The control program is skinned in World of Warcraft artwork, making it all that much more official and its UI is laid out in such a way that configuring the mouse is not in the least bit difficult. Using this mouse inside the popular MMO (at the time of this writing, with 11.5 million subscribers) is a lot of fun and I have not had any negative effects while using it, except that after a couple hours you begin to become dependent on your programmed mouse macros. The dual hand rests on both sides of the mouse provide a comfortable grip, especially over very long play sessions, and the side buttons were all placed in just the right locations for my fingers. Also, you can program up to ten profiles for the mouse to use, all are switchable on-the-fly, providing up to 160 different commands/macros total.
OFFICIAL SPECS
Software Specifications
- World of Warcraft® branded GUI
- Assign World of Warcraft® commands
- Develop custom macros (up to 160 characters)
- Adjust DPI and standard mouse settings
- Adjust illumination color, effects, and intensity
- Independently adjust x and y-axis sensitivity
- Real-time profile switching
- Import and export profiles
Technical Specifications
- Max. resolution: 3200 DPI
- Max. acceleration: 20 g
- Max. speed: 65 inches/second
- Max. USB report rate: 1000 hz / 1ms
- USB data format: 16-bit
- USB interface: Full speed
- Sleep mode: Disabled (Always On)
System Requirements
- Windows Vista™, Windows® XP, or Windows® 2000
- 100 MB Free Hard Drive Space
- 128 MB RAM
- Available USB port
OVERALL
If you are an avid World of Warcraft player with an extra hundred dollars to burn, you would be remiss to pass up this gaming mouse. It performs very well and offers a whole lot of WoW-related benefit. The macros alone are worth the price of admission. For those of you who are a bit more casual, the WoW-focus could be somewhat off-putting.
Official Product Page
Bookmark & Share:
