From the Smart Desktop Management System range
The Roccat Kova is the first mouse from the German manufacturer, so let’s have a look at their first attempt.
Packaging:
This mouse comes in a striking but modern box; it looks good and follows the Roccat theme. There’s also a windowed door on the front of the packaging to allow better viewing of the mouse.
The box also has an embossed logo down the right hand side; this is another very nice feature because it catches the light well and looks great. There are also small blue tags that cross over the window that promote the main points of the mouse. On the back is a detailed layout of all the features of the mouse and a close up and eerie photo of the Kova. It’s also worth noting that the packaging is very easy to open and very easy to put the mouse back inside again, which I feel is important for re-sale and returns. It’s just a nice feature to have.
Once you pop the box open you’re presented with a very simple plastic mould with the mouse tucked inside. Additionally, there is a quick start guide inside, which explains all the different settings of the mouse and how to change them. With the mouse being driverless, this part is vital. And it’s very well written and easily executed. And also, as with most Roccat items, you receive a Roccat ID Card. This card has a unique number on it, but mine, once again, ends with 1337. I really feel they’re trying to tell me something.
The Mouse:
First impressions with this mouse were very good. It’s a very striking and mean shape, all black design, plenty of buttons, and it looks like the new Lamborghini. What else could you want?
After using the mouse for a very short period of time it began to feel quite natural, it’s a nice shape and lightweight. Not usually my cup of tea when it comes to a mouse but I quite liked it. One thing I really like about this mouse is that it is totally driverless, you just plug it in and it works. Takes about 15 seconds to Windows to just sort itself out; but that’s it. The aesthetics of the Kova are amazing, it’s a gorgeous shape and has Roccat written down the left click button, which looks great. I really liked the lights; they’re beautiful, and just right in terms of brightness. They shine from two quadrilateral shaped “vents” at the back of the mouse and from two small slits at the front which looked like headlights on a car.
I really disliked the “side buttons” on this mouse. They were very awkward to use when changing the settings. Imagine you have buttons 1 and 2 on the left, 3 and 4 on the right. Pressing 1 and 3 at the same time adjusts the lighting effect, 2 and 4 is the DPI, 1 and 4 is how often the colour changes, and 2 and 3 is which colour the mouse is displaying. I deliberately wrote that to confuse you because that’s how it feels when you’re trying to learn how to work this mouse. It’s an awful way to change the DPI, but I suppose that it was either having drivers or this. The buttons do work well in games though, and they are exactly where my thumb sits. I hated the scroll button as well, it has a horrible lump in the middle, it just feels like it wasn’t moulded together properly, but looking at several photos on the internet, I found that they’re all like that.
Continued overleaf...
