Very First Impressions.

I want to start by saying that the packaging is some of the greatest packaging for a peripheral I had over seen. It came in a box that was better than one you would get from a fine chocolate store. It had a magnetic lid on it, and opened with the grace of cigar box. I almost expected to see light shoot out of the box like that little girls box on those DLP commercials. There was not a blazing beam of light inside,instead there was a smart looking, brand new mouse that had the grace of a sports car, in style and size.

Once out of the box, it took me a second to really grasp what I was looking at; in the box as well as the photos, you truly do not understand the differences this mouse brings to the table. It has built into it little joy sticks, there is also one on the top in "front" of the scroll wheel, I can't wait to get this thing up and running.

Down to Business

The O2 gaming mouse has 3 build in joy sticks. If you have a normal mouse right now in your hand (or your imagination) look at where your thumb and pinkey finger (also known as the fifth metacarpal) are, there are joysticks there. Here is the cool thing, they are recessed into the mouse, so your fingers are all in the same place as a traditionally.

Each "position" in the joysticks can be mapped to keys or controls on the key board. There is also some combo positions like the left side stick forward, and the right side one back (X-Axis) as well on the up and down (Y-axis). If you are into fighter gamers you could kick ass with just this mouse. So the count is 12 actions on the side sticks.

There is also a joystick on the top in front of the scroll wheel (oh did I mention it has a scroll wheel too?). This one can also be mapped to any key you want. Mapping is done by an installed program, it has 40+ "profiles" built for some of the hottest games, as well as the ability to make your own. I made one for EQ2, and in no time I was running around Qeynos like a bat at of hell; appropriate given that the Halloween event was in full swing. I also switched over to BattleField 2142, and again was able to get my ass handed to me in style and grace.

Do not be fooled, this is also a mouse. A laser based mouse that you can change dpi on the fly, from 400 to 2000! For those that care, at 2000 dpi, you can get from one side of the screen to the other in about 2 millimeters of movement. I opted for 800. Cool thing is, you can change them on the fly, on the mouse. You get a color indicator as to what dpi you are set on via the scroll wheel that changes colors.

There are some cons to this mouse that are very important to note. As I have alluded to already this mouse is a bit large. I am 6' 1" (185 cm for my metric friends) and I found its size a little hard to manage. The top joystick is meant to be used by your index finger, I could not comfortably move the stick into the forward position without an awkward hand shift up. I ended up pushing the joystick forward using the outer rim towards the scroll wheel, not from the finger well. This thing is about a half inch to tall (1 cm), so smaller hands can all but forget the upper joy stick.

The other con is the software. While it is easy to use, I wish this thing had on-board memory like other programmable peripherals that I have used in the past. I would like to store the mappings on the device so that I can take the mouse wherever and have it work. The added functions are just not there without the software installed on your computer, and with some of the CPU numbers modern games use, I can not spare the cycles for the software.

I also wish the mouse was a little bit heavier, when you use the joysticks you have to be be mindful of the force in the sticks, and really use your wrist to compensate.The last con for this mouse is a small one, but worth noting. It has to be on its own USB port. This thing is well lit, and laser guided, so you can not use the extra USB port on your keyboard, because this thing draws to much power. So unless you have a powered USP hub (they are cheap) or an extra slot hanging around somewhere in the back of the PC, you will not be able to power this bad boy.

Bottom line

All in this mouse would be a great addition to any disabled gamer looking to get the most out the mousing hand, despite the size. It would take some getting use to, but lets be honest, disabled gamers are use to getting use to things. AbleGamers awards it the "AbleGamers Silver Seal of Approval", mainly for bring so much control into the palm of my hand. Those AbleGamers with upper body limb issues will may find this mouse a great addition to your arsenal.