Transformer’s 3 Collector’s Series Mouse & Mat Review:

You don’t have to be Shia LaBeouf to form the perfect alliance with the Transformers this summer. Gaming peripheral powerhouse Razer brings home the dark war between the Autobots and Decepticons with the release of their Transformers 3 Collector’s Edition series of Gaming Mice and the Vespula™ Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat (each sold separately). Whether you’re a diehard Transformers fan, or just a loyal follower of all things gaming, these products might just be the paring you’ve been looking for.

The Mouse

What side will you choose? Included in the series are four different versions of the DeathAdder gaming mouse, each uniquely designed to resemble the look and feel of your favourite Transformer. Choose from the fiery red and blue power of Optimus Prime, the bright and energetic yellow of Bumblebee, the dark brooding purple of Shockwave, or the cold silver evil of Megatron.

Being Left-Handed, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the Razer DeathAdder being designed primarily for right-handed gamers, but I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it feels in my hand. With its ergonomic design, I didn’t experience any learning curve when switching to it from my old mouse. Out of the box, the DeathAdder comes equip with 5 customizable buttons, 4 of which are “Ultra Large” buttons, which may make it easier for some gamers with motor impairments to control, a scroll wheel with 24 individual click positions and a 3500dpi 3.5g infrared sensor to ensure the utmost in accuracy and movement. Looks aside, where this mouse really shines is behind the scenes. With the drivers installed, users are in complete control, being able to swap the handedness, customize what each button controls (including the scroll wheel) and even adjust the sensitivity for each individual X, Y Axis. This made a huge difference for me because my precision issues are more predominant when moving my hand in some directions than they are in others, and this mouse caters to that. To top it off, if you have more than one user of the same computer, you can also save individual profiles so that you don’t have to change the settings back each time a specific person wants to play. The only thing this mouse is missing is being able to transform into a sweet car for me to show off...but I think the ambient pulsing glow of the Autobot logo is a good start. 

The Mat

If you thought the DeathAdder on its own was good, paring it with the Vespula™ Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat is a match made in Cybertron heaven. Each side has a unique and distinctive gaming-grade surface that matches the battling style of its Transformer counterpart.

With the Autobots side, the surface has been designed to cater to more speedy movements, perfect for those moments when fast reaction times are key. With the Decepticons side, users are able to make more precise movements and are able to control each action meticulously.

I myself prefer the Autobots side, but either way I know there are a lot of gamers out there who will appreciate how the gaming mat makes a difference when it comes to accuracy and control as a whole. As an added bonus, it also includes a memory conformance wrist rest to help aid you on those all-night gaming binges.

Overall

The combination of innovation and design that Razer has shown here is no surprise given their track record, but something that has to be said is that both of these products, whether by intention or not, seem to serve as an asset for some gamers with a disability. Granted, this doesn’t mean that it will work for everyone, but with the price of the mouse at US$59.99 and the Mat US$34.99, you can rest assured knowing that you are getting a lot more than just movie memorabilia if you decided to purchase.

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