Location
Asia-Pacific
中国
香港
日本
한국
台灣
Australia
Россия
United Kingdom
Deutschland
France
Italia
España
Months before the Razer Imperator was released, we had our team of pro gamers have a go at the mouse. Since then, the Counterstrike Source team from Team Reason Gaming has already secured a championship at Multiplay i38 with the Razer Imperator, and today we have Solz from Team Serious Gaming who reverts with his thoughts after putting the Imperator through it’s paces.
Pro Gamer Profile
Name: Nick Schurink
Nick: solz
Team: Serious Gaming
Game: Call of Duty Series
Nationality: Dutch
Age: 20
Hello, I’m Nick Schurink I’m the sniper of the Serious Call of Duty team, and I will give you of a review of the Razer Imperator gaming mouse. Currently I use the newly released Razer DeathAdder 3.5G mouse, and in the past I played with a Logitech G5 and the old version of the Deathadder.
Out of the box I am very keen on new products, so the experience starts when receiving the mouse: how does the packaging look, does it have drivers on a disc and is there a manual to quickstart. These things are done Razer-style: cool box holding all things I need. Then I quickly unpack and plug the mouse in to give me a first impression without spending time on configuring.
How is the feel, how does it glide and what’s the size and weight. In this case for me the most important because you can always configure the mouse the way you like. What I noticed is that it is for right-hand use only. The Imperator is a bit smaller in size than the DeathAdder and a bit higher at the back side of the mouse where the palm of my hand is. The grip feels a bit different because of the groves on the sides.
When I plugged the Imperator into my computer the first thing you notice are the typical Razer flashing blue lights at the mousewheel and the flashing Razer logo. Three things were ‘new’ to me compared to other mice: the side grooves of the mouse, the adjustable side buttons and the 5600 dpi sensor.
Thumb groove and undercut
To start off it is important to know I use a palmgrip. My hand has maximum contact with the mouse so it feels like a natural extension of my hand. The first thing I noticed when I put my hands on the mouse was the thumb grip at the left side and the ring/pinkie undercut at the right side of the mouse which makes moving around a bit morecomfortable.
Because the mouse is more ‘in’ your hand you need less pressure to hold it which is good for long hour practice sessions. Also, because the mouse is a little bit higher than the DeathAdder , the Imperator fits nicely to my hand. I always like higher mice better, if a mouse is too flat it doesn’t feel right to me because it makes the mouse feel real wide, as if you have to spread your hand in an unnatural way.
In my game I am the sniper of the team with a low mouse sensitivity in-game, I need to be able to react very quickly and aim very precisely. I played for hours and had no difficulties with this mouse to perform up par. A thing that has to be said is that the mouse is designed for right-handed gamers which was quite inevitable if you want to implement the thumb and ring/pinkie undercut to a mouse.
Adjustable side-buttons
Besides the side grooves the other real new thing on the mouse is the possibility to adjust your side buttons. This is actually the first time I have seen a mouse with this feature, and as a palm grip user this is a real nice addition. In other words, you can move the side buttons more to the front of the mouse or more to the back of the mouse. Which basically means that both palm grip players as claw grip players can use this mouse while being comfortable with the side buttons.
Most players, and so do I, use the side buttons for various actions in-game. In the past I had a mouse where, as palm grip player, I couldn’t reach the side buttons when my hand was in a palm grip position and at the same time hold the mouse in the same way I always play. Now you can adjust the side buttons as you like. I have the buttons as far to the front as possible and in that position am able to control all buttons without having to move my hand on the mouse.
Razer Precision™ 3.5G infrared sensor
The mouse has a 5600dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G laser sensor which is a more precise sensor than the renewed Razer DeathAdder that I use. With the Razer Driver it is very easy to adjust your dpi to your liking. No complicated settings and no trouble whatsoever.
Another thing that comes in handy is that you can use the so-called On-The-Fly Sensitivity™ to adjust your dpi settings whenever you want without opening the driver menu. After configuring the mouse to my personal settings, I started to play to test the performance of the sensor. It was now time for some fragging in Call of Duty 4! After taking some time to get used to this new mouse I had no problems with reaction speed and moving smoothly around. I make many fast swipes during playing because as a sniper
I have to constantly check all different spots. From my experience the sensor works good. I also have played with higher dpi settings and adjusted my sensitivity. To me it felt that the sensor was responding similar in different configurations, and didn’t show stuttering or a feeling of skipping.
Conclusion
With the Razer Imperators adjustable side buttons and both the thumb grip and ring/pinkie undercut you are in control with how you want to use the mouse. This mouse is comfortable for both palm grip players as claw grip players. The mouse has a typical cool Razer design, easy to use drivers with the option to change dpi whenever you like with buttons on top of the mouse. A last thing I want to add to this review is the handy Razer Synapse™ on-board memory.
I can store my configuration on the mouse which saves me time when playing on a LAN and having to set up. The words ‘Control’ and ‘Comfort’ both say exactly what this mouse is.
Nick ‘solz’ Schurink
——————————————————————-
Click here for more information on Team Serious Gaming.
Click here for more information on the Razer Imperator.
Join us on Twitter