by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

As gaming has progressed over the decades we've learned that not only are people inclined to want customized peripherals but have some pretty high expectations when using them. Fortunately there are a few companies these days which cater to our selective tastes in the form of headsets, keyboards, mouse, and more. How important is your mouse when you game? Does it really affect your performance or is it just a status symbol? Growing up as a skeptic of high end gear, I've always bought fairly inexpensive equipment which could not only be abused but easily replaced.

When I removed Ideazon's Reaper Edge mouse from the box, it was apparent this was designed for players who wanted something that looks and feels "professional." With a snake skin like cover, ergonomic rubberized grip, and more buttons than some game controllers it seems an attempt was made to build the perfect mouse. How did it stand up to my testing?

The basic installation wasn't bad at all. Plugging it in immediately brought the mouse to life as any good USB peripheral would, but stopping there could have diminished the overall features. Loading up the software CD, a program was installed which brought up a number of options allowing you to adjust DPI, Polling Rate, and even program buttons. Let's look at some of the primary features of the Reaper Edge.

style="margin: 10px; float: right; "
border="1">

src="/image/view/78292"
width="200" border="0">

Much more comfortable than
the Nintendo Power Glove!

The ergonomics have been highly praised in a number of reviews and I found it hard to argue this was extremely comfortable but clearly designed for right handed users. The only thing I found a little awkward were the placement of button 4 and button 5 near the thumb. While this could be very useful I found myself accidentally clicking them on a regular basis which in conjunction with assigning buttons created a few tense moments by tossing grenades at my teammates.

In recent years high precision mouse have become all about the DPI and in case you aren't familiar with what that means we'll break it down. DPI which stands for Dots Per Inch and corresponds to how many points are in a set amount of space that the mouse can read. The more dots you have, the less motion required to achieve going from place to place. While this particular mouse confines you to settings of 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, and 3200 you can easily utilize the mouse sensitivity slider to get things about where you want it.

I tested out the various settings on Tabula Rasa, City of Heroes, and the current FPS standard Call of Duty 4. I found the lowest settings a little cumbersome to use and very difficult to manage while the 1200 and 1600 were a little more like the standard mouse I normally use. 2000 allowed me to flip back and forth across the screen almost effortlessly and became my standard but 3200 was just unbelievably fast and should only be attempted by those with hands of a surgeon.

Programming the buttons was fairly easy with the included software and being able to use powers, toss fragmentation grenades, and switch weapons from my mouse was very convenient. It also appears you have the option to record macros to each button but I just couldn't think of a reason I'd want to do this. The only technical difficulties I had, was at one point switching the settings appeared to make Vista angry and the machine locked up. Considering the start up files ended up corrupted I'm willing to place the entire blame on the OS and not Ideazon's software.

The important question is though, who is this made for? Will the average gamer appreciate what it can offer considering it's near $60 price tag? While many of us will never bother with DPI adjustment, polling rate, or set macros we can all understand comfort and intuitive controls. The Reaper seems to provide all that in a shiny package complete with LED lights for those of you who like pretty but refuse to admit it. Considering it actually survived two weeks of gameplay with me is a testament it not only can take heavy abuse but survive being grabbed by a 2 year old repeatedly and still work.

The functions it offers will satisfy anyone looking to tweak their competitive gaming and has simple ergonomics even a Bejeweled player could appreciate. While I might not be bold enough to say this mouse is for everyone, I would without hesitation tell people to at least take a look at one. If you are looking for more information about the Reaper Edge be sure to stop by Ideazon's site and get the lowdown or stop by your local PC store and check one out.


What do you think of the Reaper Edge? Email me and let me know! Also be sure to stop by our forums to discuss it!


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Tabula Rasa Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

Comments