Living in a 3D World

Ten Ton Hammer
Review’s the Sandio 3D Game 0’ Mouse


By Cody
“Micajah” Bye



Three dimensional worlds are the norm in the current video
game age; everything that comes off the shelf requires a 3D optimized
GPU and a plethora of video memory to boot. Almost all Western MMOGs
are rendered in 3D, at least since Everquest hit store shelves around
the U.S. and required a 3D graphics accelerator. Computer gaming
aficionados can rarely escape the trappings of a 3D world without
exploring niche or wizened titles.

No longer considered a “revolution,” the
3D gaming age has been upon us ever since games like Doom and Ultima
Underworld hit computer screens and “wowed” users
with the polygonal graphics and choppy textures. In these 3D worlds,
players can move with relative freedom – albeit sometimes
limited by “gravity”,
“mountains”, and “zones”
– yet the interface (keyboard/mouse, joystick, gamepad) that
we use to access these games hasn’t changed drastically in
the decades that have passed.

width="200">
href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album359&id=WhiteGameO_300&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album359/WhiteGameO_300.thumb.jpg"
alt="iPod Inspired White" title="iPod Inspired White"
name="photo_j" border="0" height="130" width="150">
You'll notice the three direction sticks, one on top
and two on the sides.

As gamers, we love our options. Most individuals who are
hardcore gamers will install a game and immediately remap the keyboard
to whatever designation they feel most comfortable with. However,
there’s a severe limitation on the number of
“3D” peripherals that exist for us to use. A mouse
alone may be sufficient to run a game that’s limited to the
“ground” like many of the click-and-move MMOGs
coming out of Korea, but if you begin pushing that third dimension (the
Z axis, if you will) you begin running into problems. Even with the
keyboard included in a gamer’s repertoire, three dimensional
movement is lackluster at best. Many combat flight simulator fans would
argue that the use of a joystick solves many Z-axis problems, but put
the player’s avatar back on the ground and the joystick
becomes cumbersome once again. Games like NCsoft’s Aion are
dying for a peripheral that allows them to provide a solid base of
movement on the ground and in the sky, and the Sandio 3D Game
0’ Mouse attempts to solve that dilemma.

So Many Buttons, So Few Fingers

When the Sandio 3D Mouse passed over my desk, I was
immediately captivated by its design. The glossy black finish and dark
gray buttons are quite appealing, and a strange base provides a
substantial wrist support for the users that feel that they need to use
it. Along with the black and gray style, Sandio also produces the mouse
in deep metallic red and iPod-inspired bright white. Although not as slick as the Razer or Logitech gaming mice
(there were no side wall LEDs or super slick paint jobs), the Sandio is
certainly more captivating than your typical roller-ball or optical
mouse.

width="200">
href="http://tth.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album359&id=black_box_300X300&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album359/black_box_300X300.thumb.jpg"
alt="Black Box" title="Black Box" name="photo_j"
border="0" height="150" width="150">
This is the black version of the mouse, the same
version I reviewed.

Three programmable direction sticks decorate the outside walls
of the mouse; one on the top, the left, and the right of the edges. The
sticks are relatively easy to reach, even for a person with a small
hand. In fact, individuals with larger hands may find the mouse
cumbersome in the five-finger configuration that is possible with the
mouse.

By using all five of your fingers, it’s possible to
hit every one of the buttons on the mouse at the same time, but I
wouldn’t recommend going the five-finger route. I tried using
all of my fingers to navigate through Azeroth in the World of Warcraft,
and it wasn’t pretty. Four fingers is a much more comfortable
and efficient way to operate the Sandio 3D.



Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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