Review by Matt S.
Earlier this week I reviewed a gaming keyboard from CoolerMaster. It is a good keyboard, and assuming you’ve got a good headset to drown out the noise of the keys I fully recommend it. But a keyboard needs a mate to be fully functional. So now I move on to the CoolerMaster CM Storm Reaper mouse.
As it belongs to the same product line as the keyboard, so it’s not surprising that it features the same black-and-silver aluminium aesthetic. Like the keyboard there’s an industrial coolness to the Reaper mouse, but I must say it does look better in mouse form. This is a nice, chunky device that looks comfortable before you even put your hand on it. The scroll button in the middle of the mouse is a bit visually chunky, but once plugged in the subtle line off colour that displays across the face of the mouse makes it one that most people will enjoy. Assuming, of course, they’re not looking for a mouse covered in art.
People don’t buy a CoolerMaster mouse for its aesthetics, however. It’s the performance that counts, and this mouse performs admirably. To test it I played around with Photoshop for a few hours, and found the the accuracy of the mouse was comfortable right down to the pixel. The scroll button might look ugly, but it nails the soft resistance that you want to feel when use it. The buttons on the face of the mouse are a little shallow to press down – I do like a firmer “click” when I press on the button.
On the left hand side of the mouse are a further three buttons positioned for easy access by the thumb. One of these is programmable, which is a help for actions that need quick reflexes when in a game. The other two are tiny, and more useful for performing the “back” and “forwards” functions when browsing the web.
The way I use a mouse made it slightly too easy to click those buttons, which was a minor irritant when I was browsing the web. On the other hand, the ergonomics of this mouse are incredible. My palm rests comfortably on the mouse’s body, which is curved just right to take my hand’s weight. As with the CoolerMaster keyboard after prolonged use of this mouse, my hands do feel far less tired than when I use a generic mouse.
It’s worth noting that this mouse is only designed for use by right handed people. Like putting the wrong show on the wrong foot, left handers would be best advised to wither use their right hand or find a different mouse.
As with the CoolerMaster keyboard, this mouse doesn’t come cheap, and the payoff is perhaps not as immediately obvious, but after spending some time using it, it’s difficult to then go back and use something less precise or robust. And surely that’s a sign that it’s worth a purchase if you need to use your mouse for serious tasks – whether that be pro gaming, graphic design, or all-day number crunching.
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @digitallydownld
