E3 2005: Level Up
The Gaming Mouse Redefined
Product: RTR-720 Mark II Gaming Mouse
Company: Gamingmouse.com
Date: 05/21/2005
Avaliable On:

The folks at GamingMouse.com certainly seemed excited about their product. That being the RTR-720 Mark II with PAL 2.0 USB gaming mouse, an odd looking mouse, bearing a closer resemblance to a puck than a conventional mouse. This is because they set out to redefine the way the mouse is held and used, examining everything from the way you hold a mouse to the way it slides around on the gaming surface - even to the way the cord is attached. When you try out the RTR-720 Mark II, you find that it's got some innovative features - it's not just a pretty face.

It weighs in at a low 2.5 ounces, making it approximately 35% lighter and smaller than the average desktop mouse. It has a "rotary grip form function", essentially a rubberized gripping surface around the outside of the mouse that allows for precise control. The RTR-720 Mark II has a total of 7 buttons - four lit buttons on the top of the mouse, and three pressure zones built into the wrap around grip. Not enough buttons for you? Tracking weighs in at 1600 dpi, with X and Y sensitivity being individually and dynamically adjustable.

Inside, the RTR-720 Mark II has its own CPU, memory and software for advanced performance without external drivers. The RTR-720 contains more than 5 times the processing power of the original IBM PC or Apple IIe! What is this processing power used for, you might ask? Well, first of all, having the driver managed internally reduces the processing hit on your computer. Additionally, since the configuration is in the mouse and not in the driver, you can quickly and easily take your configured mouse to another computer without having to redo your settings. The most mind-blowing use of this CPU power, however, is the extremely capable binding system built into the mouse. Good Works' innovative PAL (Peripheral Action Language) allows actions to be programmed to the buttons in amazing combinations, complexity and sequence sizes. Keyboard pasting up to 500 characters... mousing instructions measured in pixels... 8 way scrolling... streams of commands... randomized number of repeated actions... even change the control profile you're using on the fly in just 16ms! You can even build an infinite loop of actions to be activated by one button press and stopped by another button press.

Check back for a hands-on review of the RTR-720 Mark II in the near future. I'm looking forward to seeing just what this one can do.

Geck0 aka Robert Perkins

GameVortex PSIllustrated TeamPS2