A ‘Gaming Mouse’ is one of those things that many parents will raise an eyebrow at. To us, a mouse is for swooshing around the desk to get to where you want to go. That works for whatever you’re doing on the screen, doesn’t it? Well… no. Not really.
I have been taught the error of my ways by my gamer teens.
A mouse and keyboard are so very much more.
Spend a little time watching your gamer team in the middle of a League of Legends or CS:GO match, and you’ll instantly get it. The way their fingers fly and hammer their peripherals, I’m amazed that they last more than a few months.
And that was probably the fastest thing I learned when my kids got into PC Gaming. The standard peripherals that I bought with their PC’s – decent but ordinary ones which were more than happy for clicking around YouTube and the odd Office document – simply wilted under the pressure and collapsed in terror. They are just not built to withstand the pressures of an eSport.
But buy them a decent, properly designed gaming mouse or keyboard, and not only do they do all manner of clever trickery which I don’t really need to understand or appreciate, they also last. Which I most certainly do understand and appreciate. Build quality is everything – and simply works out cheaper in the long run.
So when Razer sent over the new Basilisk Gaming Mouse I had no shortage of experienced and willing reviewers to put it through its paces. But I handed it over to the 15yr old who’s first love is FPS (first-person shooter games) – he’s the actual person they had in mind when they designed this mouse.
Here’s what he thinks…
First up, the physical design. This is a mouse for right-handers only (or for left-handers like me who have taught themselves to mouse right-handed) – the thumb rest keeps your thumb up and away from your mousemat, making sure there’s no dragging and therefore no slowing of your targeting,
The Basilisk is a stylishly plain mouse, with an unassuming exterior made pretty with it’s Chroma styling. I’m not ashamed to say I’m a big fan of the totally useless lighting options. So pretty!
But once you’re actually using it, it’s easy to see why this mouse is one to wish for from Father Christmas this year. This is Razer’s first mouse with their ‘clutch’ system. And once you’ve tried it, you won’t want to go back.
On the left of the mouse, there’s a long button seated neatly for your thumb. During game play it’s as easy and instinctive to hit as a clutch gear change in a car – which means that when you need to, one press and you’ve tightened the mouse movement for a precise shot. Let go, and you’re back to the loose settings needed for the free running parts of the game. I love it.
You set the clutch DPI in Razer’s Synapse desktop software, and it’s just the one setting, it just means that while any modern gaming mouse will allow you to change sensitivity, it’s usually though fiddly pre-set buttons somewhere on the mouse. with the clutch mode it becomes second nature, and now I’ll be lost without it.
In all, I love this mouse. It’s the snappiest yet smoothest I’ve tried, the clutch DPI is an awesome development, and I have to admit that I’m a big fan of the Chroma; anything that lights up to look pretty gets my vote too!
The Basilisk is part of a fabulous £360 Razor Bundle you can win in #LittleStuff24 right here – but if you can’t wait, or it’s on your gamers wish list this Christmas, the Razer Basilisk gaming mouse is available direct from Razer for under £65.
