There comes a time in every young man’s life when he must decide whether to game in red, blue, or purple…
The Merc Stealth gaming keyboard from Ideazon combines the three key elements that all PC gamers demand: style, tailor-made for gaming, and keys that light up! PC gamers are always on alert for that next new add-on that allows more pwnage per hour, and all PC gamers have a natural allergy to light so they must always play in the dark, just like ninjas. Prepare to donate your old noob board to a, well, noob, and upgrade to a ninja-level board!
This keyboard offers features ideal for gamers and non-gamers alike. Just the ability to play around with the backlighting of all the keys is possibly enough for any computer user, but this keyboard offers so much more. Shh, don’t tell your keyboard you’re about to dump it for this stylish new board that understands, and even helps satisfy, your healthy love of gaming.
- Astounding three color illumination in RED, BLUE and PURPLE
- Choose your level of brightness (Subtle, Ambient, Intense, Off)
- Illuminated characters on every key
- Rubberized movement keys for superior response
- Tilted 11 degrees to match natural wrist position
- 34 gaming keys labeled and positioned for ultimate precision and control
- Simultaneous key stroke response — no need to worry about phantom keys in the heat of the battle
Z Engine Software: Industry leading software allows gamers to easily customize every gaming experience
- Programmable with easy-to-use drag-and-drop macro editing
- Over 125 pre-defined key mapping layouts
- Learn more about Z Engine
- Two USB 2.0 ports to plug in mice and other peripherals
- Gold plated audio jacks for headsets and microphones
- Multimedia controls for in and out of game use
Of course, the most notable aspect of this keyboard is the illumination of the keys. It is the main draw, perhaps more than anything else offered by the Merc Stealth, since a keyboard is used for much more than just gaming. Not only does a cool, all-black keyboard go easy on the eyes, but being able to change the colors of each letter and symbol on the keys makes using a computer slightly more appealing.
You can toggle between three colors: red, blue, purple; also three brightness settings: subtle, ambient, intense (also off). It never gets old changing the colors around, and playing/typing in the dark is possible, if you are into that sort of experience. If nothing else, taking something that epitomizes work and boredom, and making it cool and stylish will make any computer that much more enjoyable.
Perhaps the most convenient feature is the inclusion of the two USB ports along the upper edge. Though USB ports are becoming more and more numerous on computers, the two extra for any hardcore gamer’s accessories doesn’t hurt. You may actually like the easier access to a USB port for those things you keep unplugging, such as jump drives and mice.
The headphone and microphone jacks at the top are nice, though the wire on the earphones will need to be long because the wire will either need to go over the keys or go under the keyboard. So the jacks could have gone at the bottom edge, but it shouldn’t be a big deal. I almost thought the headphone jack didn’t work until I realized the two connectors on the USB wire needed to be plugged in as well. Also, there was a slight buzz in my earphones through the keyboard, but it was only heard on little or no volume, and it could just be my board; no big deal either way.
Gaming
The only part to this keyboard gamers are interested in is the part that helps them play games. The game pad on the left side is positioned similar to those keyboards you’ve seen that are split in the middle and bend inward. The 11 degree tilt does feel more comfortable and is more natural at the end of the day.
The keys themselves are each designed with gaming in mind. The WASD setup of most games is transferred here into larger, more rounded keys, and being made of rubber allows more grip. The keys around this main cluster are more or less nothing new, but it’s that each key is different; some are rounded, others are dimpled, and the rest are wider. Also along the left rim and above the game pad is a row of specialized keys. There is also the Z Engine key that brings up the software as well as: volume controls, video controls, the illumination keys, and programmable web keys (the three roman numerals).
The change that will please any PC gamer is the stacked number keys. Most typists don’t quite master the exact distance to each normal number key, hence the birth of the num pad. The number keys on the Merc Stealth are smaller than usual and there are eleven of them. Even if you have to look at the keys, just the fact that all your spells and/or weapons are reachable by one hand will save you from many a goblin/soldier attack. Over time, the cluster of game keys will be easy to memorize and easy to play with.
In use as a keyboard, the Merc Stealth offers the same functions as any standard QWERTY keyboard. The rounded, almost sloping nature of the board – as seen by using the space bar – just goes easy on the fingertips. The buttons have a flexible feel, but they and the whole keyboard are just a hair smaller than most. So for typing you may occasionally hit the apostrophe instead of the semicolon, but that will work itself out. It’s really no big deal, but a tiny problem that may pop up from time to time. So other than being more compact, the basic keys are all the same as any board.
My only problem with the keyboard part of this keyboard is that the arrow keys are meshed in with the num pad. I have two keyboards with arrow keys that are in their own cluster, but for some odd reason, even though the arrow keys on the Merc Stealth are the same distance as a normal board, the buttons around the arrows tend to throw me. If you don’t use the arrows, no big deal, but I imagine most users run into this problem.
The Delete, End, and Home keys are oddly placed in the num pad as well, but those are slightly easier to get used to. These three keys require the num lock to be off, so you will usually have to choose between a num pad and these three functions – so the num pad will most likely get the axe.
There are three ways to use the Merc Stealth in combat; really four, but that fourth way is if you just use this keyboard like any other, which defeats the purpose altogether. After you install the software, you can use the pre-set Ideazon settings to a wide selection of games, but other than a few multiplayer games you probably won’t use many of these. You can check for updates to the software online to see if any of the latest games are added. However, some of the choices for default mods you will not use, but luckily you can change them around.
Editing pre-set mods requires an awareness of the art. Oddly, most of the key sequences by default do not correspond to the correct key on the game pad they claim. The problem can be fixed through updates, but you should make sure every “key sequence” at the bottom in the edit mode will correspond to the actual key on the keyboard. It’s a bit tedious, but this way you can make the gaming pad on the Merc Stealth work with your game.
The last way to use the Merc Stealth for gaming, and the only way where you can make the board fit to your game without outside help, is to simply set the in-game options menu to match the pad. So this is the option where you don’t use the Ideazon mods, or you just turn them off by preference, but the software must be installed for the game pad to work regardless. Just as you would for a normal QWERTY keyboard, just customize the controls to match the cluster of keys letter for letter. And since the cluster is similar to the WASD setup, the translation will be slight. The example: the Titan Quest mod did not work with the expansion pack “Immortal Throne,” so I just went in Immortal Throne’s options menu and changed the controls in-game. In this way, you’re literally just taking the formal key-setup and pasting it onto the Merc Stealth game pad.
Final Word
For the price, compared to other gaming keyboards, and considering the slick style and illuminated keys (but despite the compacted num pad setup) this keyboard is the perfect board for gamers – tolerable for worshipers of the num pad.
The Good: Illuminated keys; stylish; easy on the eyes and fingertips; two USB ports; earphone/microphone jacks; separate gaming cluster keys at a nifty 11 degree angle, stacked number keys, and the nine most-used keys are rubberized
The Bad: Compacted num pad with too many keys in one place; default software mods may not meet your needs and may require fixing
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||