Well, this is embarrassing. I've been going through mouse after mouse like no tomorrow. As the title of this blog entry suggests, this is my fifth mouse in two years. In that time, I have laid my hand on some fine mise - but never one which I considered perfect for me. After a little period of usage, it is always a habit of mine to nit-pick and criticize, and I always end up looking forward to another mouse to add to my ever expanding collection.

On the plus side, of course, it means I have accumulated a large bank of knowledge in gaming mice, which could be useful to other prospective buyers. Coincidently, this opinion piece was completed on the same day Gamespot launched its own 2008 Gaming Mouse Round-up. I guess it was just meant to be.

So, for the fifth edition, it's on to the Microsoft/Razer Habu:



First impression? Man, it is gorgeous. Seriously, the Habu is the best looking mouse I have ever laid my eyes (and hands) on. Between its smooth curves, black finish and blue glow pipes, it is just downright sexy.

There's a saying in aviation that goes "if it looks good, it flies good", and the same hold true to mice - well, at least in the case of Habu. The comfort is superb; the curved arch of the mouse fitting my hand comfortably and effortlessly without adaptation. It's a little heavier than either the Sidewinder or the Intellimouse Optical, but not so heavy as to be a down point. The main buttons have a soft, rubberized touch which feels almost luxurious - it's almost a joy to click on these buttons.

The side buttons are well-sized and firm to click. The rubberized wheel has a firm dentent tension, and doesn't slip. The wheel button is firm and easy to click. The only down point among the Habu's buttons are the two middle buttons, usually used for switching resolutions: they feel loose and saggy.

All seven buttons and even the scroll wheel are fully programmable, and the software even feature macros and combination functions. Somewhat disappointingly, there are only 4 dpi settings available: 400, 800, 1600 and 2000 dpi, but there are other sensitivity tweaks to make up for it somewhat. Overall, it's a competent software suite with a nice graphical interface, though many much-wanted features are missing.

The Habu features an interchangeable side panel, with the difference being simply the positions of the side buttons. Upon purchasing the Habu, I really didn't think I would need to use the second panel - that is, until I looked on the underside of the mouse. The laser was positioned much closer to my palm than other mice, and as a result moving the cursor with it in my initial use felt awkward and unnatural. I swapped the side panels so I could position my hand a little further back and still be able to reach the side buttons.

Another thing I noticed upon looking at the underside are the mouse feet: straight away, I knew this was trouble. The mouse feet were tiny and poorly positioned, resulting in strange but noticeable friction somewhere on the right side of the mouse when I drag it across my mouse pad.

But my biggest complaint about the Habu has to be the cursor motion. I'm not quite sure what's causing it, but the cursor motion would inexplicably and randomly go from smooth and precise to jittery and erratic. Maybe it's software. Maybe it's the laser's position I mentioned earlier. Maybe I bought myself a faulty mouse. Maybe it just doesn't like my cloth-on-rubber mouse pad - it was much smoother when I took my mouse pad away and used it directly on my desk surface instead. Whatever it is, I don't like it.

I like: Drop-dead gorgeous. Superb comfort. Heavy, but not too heavy. Competent software.

I dislike: The laser sensor is positioned too close to my palm. Strange erratic cursor motion. Tiny mouse feet leaves a little too much friction.

Verdict: Long ago, I found my dream keyboard in the Saitek Eclipse. Sadly, my quest for my dream mouse continues.

No, I'm not trying to be anti-social, I'm just quoting from a humorous little door knob hanger that came with my brand spanking new XFX GeForce 8800 GT graphics card. It's factory overclocked, too - I figured I might squeeze out a little more juice for my buck since it's effectively the same price as the stock frequency ones. Normally I would be wary of overclocked hardware, but I figured at least I'll have 3 years to hurl insults at XFX should things go horribly wrong.



I would be lying if I said I planned this. I actually figured my old Radeon X1950XT would last me another six months until my big upgrade in mid-2008, but situation beyond my control has demanded it, and my old faithful servant will be needed elsewhere. Maybe I'm being silly, getting all emotional over a freaking graphics card, but my X1950XT has provided me with 11 months of gaming goodness - I never had to read the requirements on the games I bought when it was around. I even still remember the day I bought it, and the joyous occasion that day was.

And now, its services will be needed elsewhere, and I am forced to part with it prematurely. Oh well, at least playing Crysis on all-High in DX9 can't be a bad thing, right?

Happy New Year!

2007 has been a great year for gaming, hasn't it? It certainly was for me. As we now look forward to another 365 days of gaming goodness, I decided to look back on the games I bought in 2007.

Games released in 2007 which I bought so far:

Crysis
Game: 9/10
Expectation vs Reality: A-
I must be one of the few who bought this game purely for the gameplay, and on that regard it succeeds. Just wished it would run a little better. Holding it off for the patch at the moment.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Game: 8/10
Expectation vs Reality: A
A terrific shooter with a lot of polish and cinematic atmosphere. Firefights are fun and intense, and the story jumps right out of a political thriller. But man, it's so linear.

Hellgate: London
Game: 6/10
Expectation vs Reality: D
Somewhere beneath this sloppy, buggy, glitchy, crashy mess is a fun game - but I have had to look pretty hard.

Supreme Commander
Game: 8/10
Expectation vs Reality: B+
Literally waited nine years for this game, and I was not disappointed. Still, certain missing things tempered my enjoyment a bit.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Game: 9/10
Expectation vs Reality: A
Better than the original game in every single way. This is Supreme Commander done right.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Game: 8/10
Expectation vs Reality: A
Expected C&C, got C&C. Nothing less, nothing more.

The Orange Box
Games: 9/10
Expectation vs Reality: A+
Half-Life 2 and the Episodes remain some of the finest single-player shooter experience around, but Portal was a delightful surprise. Like a moist, delicious cake.

Bioshock
Game: 8/10
Expectation vs Reality: C
It's atmospheric and intense, but System Shock 3 it is not. A lot of things are missing here. If it was half as good as System Shock 2 it would have been a great game, but it's not even a quarter.

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
Game: 7/10
Expectation vs Reality: B-
One of the best Diablo clones just got a bit better, but the performance bugs which remain unfixed to this day is very frustrating.

For Part 2, I'll be looking back on older games I bought in 2007.