Far to often we are asked to review products that we are told are new and innovative and yet far to often it is more of the same just slightly repackaged. While it is easy to identify a quality product there is often enough variety amongst gaming peripherals to find something most gamers to enjoy.
I have a particular brand of products that I enjoy yet I know of others who have nothing but bad things to say about the manufacturer.
I remember one mouse we reviewed that was amazing, until I played a certain game series and found the back end elevated more than I liked which caused me to have a slower than usual reaction time.
My point is that there are pros and cons with all gaming devices so finding the right balance of form and function can be a real challenge.
With that in mind, I was eager to review the new Kone XTD mouse by Roccat. While I had seen their products at shows such as E3 this was my first chance to spend an extended amount of time with their products and I was anxious to see how the mouse performed for both gaming and desktop uses.
The unit fit well into my hand and with eight buttons and a 8200 dpi sensor tracking was not an issue as the response was sleek and amazing. Combine this with 32 bit processor, gamers can enjoy lag free gaming when they play.
576 KB of memory allows players plenty of space to store their custom profiles which is a very good thing as the mouse allows users to set two functions for each button and the mouse wheel which makes customization a breeze and on the fly changes fast and smooth.
The unit also has four easy to use 5 gram weights included so you can find the right balance for your needs or adjust them easily for each game to find the best solution for your gaming needs.
I have always enjoyed customization but I also like to have a minimum of fuss with my mouse and aside from a driver/firmware update now and then, I prefer not to have to do to much tweaking on my units. When it comes time to game, I want to do little more than assign buttons in a games control area and then get to the action.
The Kone XTD also has built in LEDs which allows users to customize their lighting effect and makes the unit look even sleeker than it already does.
I tested the unit in games ranging from Call of Duty: Ghosts to the Elder Scrolls Online Beta and I found the performance to be amazing. Fast, responsive and comfortable all helped make this a very impressive unit to review. I have a reviewer at the Seattle office putting the unit through testing for some current and upcoming games, and I am eager to see what they come up with once the pending games of 2014 arrive.
For now, the unit offers high performance and comfort with a degree of customization and versatility not often found in gaming devices.
