Using the keyboard to play Unreal Tournament and Crysis was a pleasure. I was able to bind the macro keys to several useful actions in both games. Simple things like swapping weapons, going from machine gun to rocket launcher, firing and going back to machine gun in a single keytroke, makes any fps much easier. The sample I was provided with did not come with any CDs or documentation. I believe it was lost somewhere along the line. So, I was not able to fully test all of the macro applications. The drivers and basic macro software available through Razer online were enough to get me going though. 

The Razer logo on the wrist rest section of the keyboard, although appealing in the overall look of the keyboard, was distracting during actual gameplay. The logo lights up blue when the keyboard is powered. While I'm talking about the wrist section, unfortunately on this keyboard, it's fixed and cannot be removed. I felt the hand positioning was uncomfortable, although it is meant to be ergonomically correct, so perhaps that's my issue and not Razer's!

The black area at the top of the keyboard above the F8 and F9 is what Razer call the Battledock. Battledock accessories that are available from Razer include things like a mini lamp (the Battlelamp) or webcam (the Battleye) which can be plugged directly into the micro-USB socket underneath the plug.

Low latency mice technology has been marketed and around for years. Razer's "Hyperesponse" basically does what we have come to rely on with mice, for a keyboard, making it an awesomely quick keyboard for fps gamers. Razer explain it as so:

"The Razer Tarantula™ is the only gaming keyboard on the market with 1000Hz Ultrapolling™. This means a delay of only 1ms between the keystroke and the key's reaction, as compared to that of 125Hz / 8ms found in conventional keyboards."

The convenience and quality of the cabling in this keyboard makes it a fantastic product for a hardcore fps player. The battle accessories are a neat idea, the lamp more so than the camera, which may have the wrong angle - who really wants to look up at my nose hair!? I found that with MMOs, the macros were limiting and the overall setup of the keyboard, not really suited to the MMO style gameplay. Key latency isn't an issue in MMO play styles.

Pros:

• Very solid construction
• Well positioned macro keys for fps
• Convenient cabling (especially for LAN parties)
• Simple to use software interface
• Custom keys for easy recognition of macro keys
• Useful micro-keys for applications

Cons:

• Fixed wrist rest
• Limited macro memory (making it unsuitable for MMO gamers)
• Unable to bind actual key strokes to macro keys (applications like Ventrillo did not recognize macro-bound keys for a simple thing like push to talk)
• Bright light in logo can be distracting

Final Word

I could not recommend this keyboard to an MMO gamer but would highly recommend it to a first person shooter gamer.

We would like to thank Audion Australia for providing the unit to us for review.