Hi BT. Just thought some of you might be interested in reading my review of the Steelseries Ikari - a cheap and cheerful mouse for those not willing to spend the earth. This can also be found on RigAdvice (link in sig) Thoughts, constructive criticisms and comments welcome. Steelseries Ikari Optical Mouse Review Steelseries have been making PC peripherals from their HQ in Denmark since 2001, and have long since been involved in the competitive gaming scene, sponsorsing 15 pro gaming teams and players in 2012 alone. If their gear is good enough for the pro’s it’s good enough for you, right? Well thats what we are here to find out. Reviewing a mouse, is similar to reviewing a hat. Yes, a hat may be well made, keep your head warm in the winter, and have a spinning plastic propeller, but its nigh on useless if it doesn’t fit because you have a giant head and ears like the BFG. Before we jump in, its generally agreed that the two major ways people grip mice are ‘palm’ and ‘claw’. For those reading the review, this reviewer uses a claw grip most often. Lets start with first impressions. The Ikari ships in a nice looking, if unremarkable packaging that is thankfully easy to open. Upon removing the mouse from the box, the thing you notice straight away is how light it is. For anyone used to a mouse with optional weights, such as the G9X this will come as a bit of a shock, and does make you wonder about the build quality. The body of the mouse is constructed using two different types of plastic. The top and back is shiny, shiny smooth and flexible. It needs to be since it runs all the way down to the buttons at the front. If the same grade of plastic was used throughout, we might have cause for concern, as it doesn’t feel particularly robust. Thankfully though the sides of the mouse are matte black plastic, and grippy, which should prevent fingers from sliding off when your changing from MP5 to RPG in the heat of the battle using the two thumb buttons. These are nicely placed along the outer ridge of the mouse. It should be noted that because of its placing it’s actually possible to hit the button furthermost back with either the tip or inner joint of your thumb, which could be a boon or an annoyance depending on your hands. There is a fairly sharp, though not uncomfortable, rise from back of the mouse to its highest point (36mm), and this, along with the length (130mm) means that those with bigger hands might well find the Ikari a joy to use, as it’s certainly amongst the larger mice available. The sides of the Ikari also contribute to this, and its exterior lip gives your thumb somewhere to rest. As well as the aformetioned buttons, the Ikari has the now standard scroll wheel as well as a button for on the fly changes in DPI between high and low. Though the exact DPI specifications aren’t made clear, Steelseries tell us that the ‘counts per inch’ are between 400 and 1600 so it’s possible that high represents 1600 and low 400. (Source: Steelseries) The Ikari is billed by Steelseries as a no nonsense mouse, designed with FPS players with around £30 to spend. In comparison to some of its similarly priced competitors such as the Coolermaster Storm Inferno, its certainly less fully featured, but this is no bad thing. The Ikari delivers in the two areas where its imperative that it do so – precision and comfort. Those coming from a Logitech mouse or, a high end Razer or Corsair product maybe bemoan the lack of features and the use of cheaper plastics, but for those that think paying £50+ for a mouse isn’t a worthwhile investment, and want a simple, but effective mouse, could do a lot worse than the Ikari.
I like the review Parge and that you mentioned a competitor with the pros cons of the Ikari. Things I would change - sponsorsing at the start of the review Pictures - while I like black and white photo, I think it's be nice to have at least one in colour. Even if it's a black and grey mouse Though that's entirely personal opinion. Also, what did you use to take the photos? Some of the photos look a bit pixelated, first one on this thread being the worst imo. They do look better on rigadvice, as the photos are smaller but I'd still try and up the resolution a bit if you can. Look forward to more reviews, any plans on a hat review?
Why black and white images? This is a review.... I'd like to see the product properly before I buy it.
Thanks for taking the time out to comment Loftie. See below answer for the colour question (you are correct) My camera can't compete with most other setups on the net (ie: dedicated photo box and SLR), so I've gone for and 'arty effects' style instead of high res images for the shots I took myself. I have included one at the end of the review (the one credited to Steelseries). I think this came across better in my Razer Carcharias review. Well, two reasons for this. Firstly, I had to take the photos at night, as there isn't any daylight by the time I get home from work, so coloured pictures weren't coming out too well. And secondly - the last one is in colour. Its just that the mouse really is colourless - blacks and greys only, so using B&W, in this case, doesn't really take away too much. Since you are the second person to comment on this though, I'll definitely take it on board and try and up the picture quality. Thanks again
I've had the Ikari Optical before and now am using the Ikari Laser. It's one of the best mice I've ever used, and it fits my hand like a glove. Oh, and the Ikari Laser doesn't use the glossy plastics anymore, but a textured plastic that feels like it's rubberized.
You forgot to mention the very good quality buttons, the clicks are perfect - light but sharp. On the side buttons and scroll wheel especially. Feels much better quality than a lot of mice out there!
Good point actually! The feel of the click isn't easy to describe in words, but it should definitely have been mentioned.
Exactly. The click is something like these old toys looking lika a frog, just not as hard, but still very distinctive.
