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Introduction
Over the years, many a company has made an attempt at reinventing the gaming controller. Some have been mildly accepted; others have been banished from gameports for all eternity. This is the first time that I have seen such a complete reinventing of the mouse for the purpose of gaming. Most will say that the Razer Boomslang series of mice was where the enthusiasm for gaming mice began. Since then, we have seen Microsoft's IntelliMouse Explorer and other optical mice become popular with gamers because of their precision. The Rotokiller RTR-720 returns us to the age of ball mice, but that's about all that's familiar.
Before I go into the more unique features on the Rotokiller, we must focus on what it is first and foremost a mouse. Its sensitivity is 968 PDI, less than what the Boomslang 1000 and 2000 were, but higher than the average mouse's sensitivity of around 400-450 DPI. It is USB 1.1 compliant through which it is polled at 100 Hz. Again, this is slightly lower than the Boomslang's USB speed of 125 Hz. However, from what I've seen, the Rotokiller outshines its competition when it comes to three other important factors: price, controls, and construction.
As of when I write this review, the Rotokiller is selling for an introductory price of $50. The Boomslang 1000 and 2000, having come back into production, are going for $70 and $100 respectively. Not a huge deal when you're going out of your way to purchase a mouse specifically for gaming in the first place, but certainly worth noting.
One item that plagued users of the Boomslang mice was their construction, being too fragile. Good Work Systems wanted to get it right the first time, building the Rotokiller by hand with polycarbonate cases and rubber gasket buttons to prevent dust and other crud from getting inside. The axles that track the movement of the ball are made of stainless steel and are held by strong polycarbonate bearings.
>> Design
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