by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

As technology has improved the gaming industry has reached unprecedented levels of popularity and sales. With this rise in profitability, we've seen more and more PC peripherals specifically designed for gaming. No longer are players huddled around their desktops using a standard "101 keyboard" and $15 mouse including a free stain crusted pad. While Ideazon's Zboard might not be something new to you, it's Special Edition Tabula Rasa keyset most certainly is and could be interesting to players wanting to make their gaming experience more enjoyable.

I'll admit to being a simple guy who will usually shy away from fancy things like a laser mouse or objects with extra buttons. My philosophy is much like that of my old grand pappy who used to say, "If it ain't needin' it, don't add it. Always use Baking Soda instead." Now while I could only comprehend half of what he was trying to communicate, his advice is sound. The more you add to a peripheral, the greater the chance of conflicts with other software and hardware. So what can the Zboard offer me that I really would want or need?

Installation

You wouldn't expect much in the way of installation when it comes to a keyboard, because they do very little compared to other pieces of hardware. The normal Zboard is USB ready and easily plugs into a Windows XP desktop taking mere moments to come to life. It does have the standard CD of drivers in the event that something goes wrong but thats just something to toss into a pile of recovery disks.

The keyboard worked just great, until you remove the standard keyboard and replace it with the Tabula Rasa one. Apparently updating the drivers really is necessary , but only takes a few moments via the internet. This is also a great opportunity to download the "ZEngine" which will add more functionality, but more on that later.

The Standard Set

Starting off with the standard keyset, what is it that will make the Tabula Rasa ones so special? While it does have an extremely nice feel to it, there is little doubt it was built with the First Person Shooter style of play in mind.

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Look for this at the store

Directional arrows are situated on larger than normal red keys located approximately where you would find your W-A-S-D setup. Surrounding them are a number of other buttons including "c" for crouch, "f" for use, "r" reload, and even the left shift for run/walk. Loading up Half Life 2 quickly proved a much more comfortable experience than my regular keyboard, and most certainly impressed what difference key positioning can make.

Transitioning to an MMO game its readily apparent the keyset does not appear to be very functional. With something like Tabula Rasa you may have no problems with combat, but where the numeric pad would normally be sits the right half of the standard keyboard. Someone with a compulsion to use"ten key" skills might find their fingers in a fit of desperation and confusion. While you might be able to easily type 80+ words a minute in a sleepy stupor, you will find yourself hunting and pecking like a grandmother checking lottery numbers on the internet for the first time.

The Tabula Rasa Set

The Tabula Rasa keyset proves to be much, much better put together for MMO games. The art design is of course in the Tabula Rasa theme, complete with Sarah Morrison, an Eloh, and a few Bane on the right side. All keys are clearly labeled with many of the frequently used commands. Sporting a normal keyboard layout, it not only feels more comfortable but improves the speed of communication and reduces annoyance.

To the right of the Sarah's head, where the numeric pad would be, are a set of keys providing shortcut buttons to a series of in game functions. A button to open your character screen, maps, mission logs, and even the options menu were just a few of the choices. A more interesting aspect is 4 buttons for chat channels: Global, Local, Shout, and Party. Pressing one of these before typing allows you to avoid using the slash commands we've all become accustomed to.

If there was one thing to complain about, it is the space bar being split in two. Now while the split is necessary in order to allow the keyboard to fold up, and normal people using "proper" keyboard posturing probably wouldn't even notice, it's still something that takes getting used to.

ZEngine

What is the ZEngine and why would you want to download it? While the Zboard does come with a standard pack of software allowing you to do a few things like remap your function keys (which comes in handy for opening browsers and such), it doesn't provide the flexibility you'd expect in a keyboard of gaming caliber.

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Flexibility it does have indeed

Booting up the ZEngine software brings up a map of your entire keyboard and allows simple editing of each key by dragging an icon from the menu on the right. Want to map your "u" key to switch UI types or not happy with using "t" to interact with NPC's? This allows you to fairly quickly remap everything with no restrictions from the game on what keys you can and can't use.

Is that all you ask? Of course not! What really separates ZEngine from the standard Zboard software is the ability to create macros. You can for instance, set up a macro to reload every weapon in your hotbar by selecting each corresponding number and designating pauses between each one. Now during play, all you would have to do is hit my "u" key and let the Zboard do the rest.

Conclusion

Overall I've enjoyed my experience using Ideazon's Zboard, and have very little to complain about (which if you know me, should say something). Do I think the keyboard is for everyone? Anyone who wants their gaming experience a little easier, or likes to customize would get plenty of use from a Zboard, not only in Tabula Rasa but in other games as well. Be sure to check out their official site for more information about this and other gaming products.

Pros: High flexibility with remapping and macros, easy chat commands, sleek look.

Cons: Space bar has an awkward split, will not make you better at Tabula Rasa.