DeathTaker, from Genius, is a mouse designed with MMORPGs and RTSs in mind, rather than FPS as is usual for gaming mouse. Though with 5700dpi and the ability to add weights I think it will suit any PC gamers’ needs. It’s ergonomic build and sleek design really make it a prominent player in the gaming peripheral space.
Sensitivity and hotkeys are irrelevant if the mouse is not comfortable to use for long periods of intense gaming and the DeathTaker does not disappoint. After almost a month of constant use I have not felt the finger strain that some mice give me after extended use. It is probably the most ergonomically contoured gaming mouse I have had the pleasure of using. In the box you will also find a set of six 4.5g weights, that you can add quite easily but sliding out the right side of the mouse and insert as many or as few as you wish into the housing. I find the ability to add weight to my mouse a requirement, especially when playing shooters and more so in conjunction with higher dpi settings.
With two fully customize-able buttons right above where your thumb rests ensures that you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for efficiency. Though I do wish that they were a tad more sensitive as I found pressing the one closest to me was a bit awkward at times or it wouldn’t respond as well as I’d have hoped. The X and Y buttons are perfectly located right next to the left click and the M(memory) button is easily accessible with your ring finger to add macros on the fly. These buttons are just the defaults, all buttons, including the right click can be remapped to just about anything.
The bundled software is the base station for all customizations, such as lighting, sensitivity and macros. It is very intuitive and easy to use. I did struggle with getting the light colours to change initially but after restarting my computer and re-connecting it seemed to work well most times. Though I still have to try a few times to get it to change. You can literally alter the sensitivity to any degree you’d like for every axis, including mouse speed, scroll speed, double click speed and polling rate. There wasn’t anything I needed to edit that I could not do with the software.
I have put the mouse to a practical test in Starcraft 2, Diablo 3 and Countersrike source and I found that being able to switch between three different dpi settings was a godsend. Not having to micromanage my sensitivity to suit each game is probably the best thing about this mouse. Not only can you have three pre-set DPI’s but you can also have specific profiles set up for each game you play, which you can switch in the software. It would have been great if it worked the same as my Logitech’s keyboard, where you can load an .exe from a game and set that as a profile so each time you open the game the profile is automatically set until you exit the game. Still, it’s not a hassle to open up the software quickly and switch profiles is need be, and truth be told I seldom needed it anyway, but I can imagine more hardcore folk will need something a little deeper. This mouse is perfect for any genre of game, despite it being designed with MMO’s in mind.
I would certainly recommend this to anyone looking to get their first gaming mouse, or upgrading from the less comfortable Razer mice.
