by Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle - November 23, 2007
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$89.99 (US)
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What It Has
The Merc Keyboard, introduced in 2006, allowed a whole new level of left-hand versatility and comfort for fast-paced PC gaming. Next, Ideazon released the Fang Gamepad, easily one of the most critically acclaimed gaming peripherals in the short history of the category. Especially grateful were left-handed gamers, who could finally straddle their hands over the keyboard to their advantage, mousing with precision with their left hand while controlling the Fang gamepad with their right.
Most recently, Ideazon released an update to their original Merc keyboard design with the Merc Stealth illuminated gaming keyboard. As you may guess, the major design improvement is the much requested keyboard backlighting, complete with three levels of illumination for three different colors, which nicely match your case lighting (blue and red) or My Little Pony collection (purple). The updated design also features new USB 2.0 ports, audio input / output jacks on the keyboard (ostensibly for your gaming headset), rubberized movement keys, and convex / concave beveling on the Merc portion of the keyboard for better tactile recognition of the keys in the heat of battle.
What It Lacks
Gamers who find the Logitech G15's LCD screen handy (for things like IMing friends without alt-tabbing away from the game via the Trillian Pro plugin) will find nothing of the sort on the Merc Stealth. You won't find a wrist rest in the box either, and due to the asymmetrically curved lower edge of the keyboard, no commercially available padding will suffice. Due to some fatigue during long gaming sessions, I solved the issue with a rolled-up towel, but it's definitely not a soluion I'd want to take to a LAN party.
I didn't have much luck with the gold-plated audio jacks, which produced a lot of static (in and out) with a reliable headset. Since using the Merc Stealth’s audio in and out requires plugging in poorly marked 1/8” stereo jacks into the back of the computer anyway (the ports aren’t virtualized through the keyboard’s single USB cable), this was hardly a selling point for me.
Also, the keyboard doesn't have that satisfying, old-school "clack" that gives you that little bit of audio / tactile feedback that the key signal was indeed transmitted to the computer. Since what musical types call "action" (how quickly the keys spring up after being pressed, which is important for rapid speed in-game) seems a little light, I found myself missing letters while typing quickly that I wouldn't normally with my G15. But this might just be a matter of what the individual user is used to.
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The Merc Stealth features 42 programmable keys.
It's Z-Engine
But the best part of the Ideazon's Merc / Fang hardware may not even be the hardware. Z-Engine, the software integration package offered with Ideazon hardware, is light years beyond what gaming keyboard competitors Saitek and Logitech offer. The difference is the interface that, while not quite perfect (annoyingly requiring the user to click a "Save Changes? Yes / No" dialog box whenever a key's behavior is modified), makes it nonetheless very easy to customize Ideazon’s products to your individual gaming demands.
The default keyboard layout favors the FPS gamer, with actions like reload, strafe, jump, duck, and crouch in the most accessible locations, each mapped to common keyboard shortcuts. Should you wish to modify one of Ideazon’s impressive downloadable game-specific selection of keyboard mods (or create one from scratch, as I did when Fury first came out), it’s just a matter of figuring out what keys or key combinations work best for the game, then assigning your choices to the Merc Stealth. It’ll take some patience to stop using major healing potions when you mean to call a target, and I’d suggest keeping the game’s default keymap throughout the process so that you’re not working with more than one set of variables.
A little patience with the key and key combo assignment process is rewarded with delay-free keyboard sequences (you can record delays between keys too, your choice); macros that will clearly put you ahead of your competitors. Be sure to assign the game’s launcher and executable to trigger the mod, and spend time testing things out in a solo to tutorial area before trying to group or do some PvP.
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- The tried and true Merc layout gets some much appreciated texture and depth for sight-free fingertip button recognition.
- Powerful Z-engine software allows for easy keyset customization.
- No wrist-rest for long sessions of gaming.
- Audio input/output jacks sketchy,
- Spring action in keys might be a bit light for some gamers.
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(8.5 / 10 Hammers)
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