Razer Abyssus V2 Gaming Mouse
Feature
We took a look at Razer's new mouse...one that suits both right-handers and southpaws
Razer Abyssus V2 Gaming Mouse
As a PC gamer, there are three important control peripherals required for a good setup - a controller/control pad, a good keyboard and of course, a mouse that lets you aim or look where you want, with a decent amount of precision. The quality of a mouse can often be the difference between a headshot and glancing blow that leaves you vulnerable. I was hoping that the Razer Abyssus V2 would be my saviour in Overwatch, helping me (and my team) to an improved victory ratio.
Design
After opening the box and pulling out the Abyssus, it immediately gave the feeling that the design was based around a sporty car such as a Lamborghini or Ferrari, with its sharp, yet sleek corners. The black unit with the obligatory Razer logo, has a wonderfully symmetrical feel, and as such can be used by both left and right-handers. The sides - both left and right - have a rubberized tread pattern, that does allow for a better grip, although I could imagine after a little while, the grip would need to be cleaned of sweat and oil build up. The scroll wheel too, comes with a rubberized grip around it, giving the mouse a more tactile feel when scrolling a website or a Word document.
Once connected, the logo begins pulsating through a small spectrum of colours, going from the traditional "Razer Green" through to a light blue and then a darker blue. It is sorta cool, but personally I find it somewhat superfluous The colour range and pulsating speed can be customized to suit within the Razer Synapse software (more on this later) and can be turned off altogether if you so choose.
Comfort
I had no issue with the mouse at all, in terms of discomfort. The Abyssus fitted nicely in my palm and allowed my fingers to neatly access the two buttons as well as the middle scroll wheel and button without any problems. Gamers with larger hands may have find that the mouse could be small, but I'm guessing that it would be the norm. The rounded end contoured nicely to my palm though. The mouse is somewhat lightweight, enabling quick movements. Those gamers that prefer a heavier mouse, or one that can be customized to their own weight preference may be a little disappointed in the lack of options in this case.
Functionality
Straight out of the box, the mouse is rather smooth to move, but once the Synapse software has been downloaded, a number of features can be tailored to your own preferences. Although it doesn't affect performance, as mentioned earlier the pulsating colors of the mouse logo can be customized within the software, along with the pulsating speed. Unfortunately, for someone like myself that owns a laptop with red highlights and backlit keyboard the option to select red as the color of choice is not available.
A feature that does improve performance though, is the ability to alter the DPI accuracy within the software. The DPI can be adjusted anywhere from 100 to 5,000 DPI and playing around with the software to find your optimum settings is a breeze. The polling rate and the acceleration settings can also be adjusted quite easily to suit your style. Of course, with the mouse being ambidextrous, the software easily allows gamers to switch between left and right handed control.
A feature that I found fairly interesting was the Data Tracking. It can be used to track your use through different games with a Heatmap feature and all sorts of statistics on mouse clicks and movements. This can be handy in determining the implementation and recording of macros. Macro recording itself, is quite straightforward as well.
Overall
I have to admit, as soon as I connected the Razer Abyssus to my work laptop, I immediately noticed a difference in smoothness of movement compared to the Microsoft mouse I previously had connected. And this was before even playing around with the easy customizable settings within the easy to use Synapse software. And although I'm right handed, I do like the fact that this mouse is ambidextrous, giving lefties a chance to shine as well. The contoured, yet sharp cornered design looks cool and although I don't really find it necessary, the color pulsating logo does give the mouse a touch of personality. The ability to tailor the mouse to your own needs is a definite advantage over the run-of-the-mill department store mouse. Indeed, configuring it to run in various scenarios depending on the game you're playing is a bonus. Oh, and it did seems to improve my Overwatch game...but it could just have been that I was actually getting better over time.
Score: 8.0