computerwoche.de

Archiv

Razer Naga Expert MMO Gaming Mouse Review

29.05.2012
The Razer 2012 Naga Expert MMO mouse is the latest edition in their gaming peripheral line geared to meet the unique needs of MMO players. After testing the new for a few days and seeing what it can do, we think it's worth the $80 price tag for gamers who are serious about MMOs or any other keyboard-heavy PC gaming.

The Naga comes with the usual collection of Razer bells and whistles, including 3 swappable ergonomic grips to make sure it's comfortable for almost any user and a precision laser sensor, along with some more buzzwordy features like "ultraslick mouse feet." Though I can't provide scientific evidence to verify how ultraslick they are, the Naga did slide comfortably over every surface I tested it on. So, that's nice.

The Naga's main selling point is the absolutely gigantic number of buttons on the thing. Sporting the typical left and right mouse buttons, a clickable scroll wheel, two additional buttons on the top of the mouse and a full 12 key numberpad for your thumb, the Naga has 17 fully customizable buttons that fit comfortably under your hand.

Naturally, upon grasping a 17-button mouse my first instinct was that the Razer Naga is extreme overkill, even for gamers. At first I found it difficult to use more than the typical left, right and center mouse buttons, and truth be told it's unlikely that your hands will be limber enough to comfortably use all 17 buttons on the Naga on your first try. Still, my short time with the Naga has made me a convert.

I tested the Naga while playing World of Warcraft, my MMO of choice. My first hour or so with the device was mostly disastrous; since I had to use my keyboard for at least some of my keybindings I kept instinctively hitting the 1-0 keys on my keyboard rather than the mouse, and when I would try and use the mouse's keypad I would often have trouble finding they key I was looking for purely by feel. Having to constantly look at my mouse hand to verify I was hitting the right buttons helped me better appreciate the Naga's slick design, but it sure wasn't improving my gameplay.

After a little more time with the mouse I came to understand these problems were easily worked out. I began getting a feel for the convenient ridges on certain buttons that let me know where my finger was resting on the Naga keypad, and my brain quickly adapted to hitting the 1-6 keys with my right rather than my left hand.