Well, it happened. In a moment of stupidity I dumped a rather large cup of coffee on my old trustworthy IBM rapid access II keyboard, effectively rendering it a soggy sticky nightmare. So, I hit best buy and finally picked up a real gaming keyboard.
The Razer Lycosa.
Price 79.99
Out of the box I was impressed with overall build quality of this this rather expensive keyboard, it's sleek and very nice on the eyes, well other than the ridiculous ergonomic wrist support, which I quickly removed. Carpal tunnel here I come! Woo!
Appearance.
The first thing you'll notice about the keyboard is it's awesome back lit laser cut keys, the keys are rubber coated for a nice nonslip surface. Of course after that you'll notice the small illuminated touch pad in the right upper corner of the keyboard, this little area contains media keys for controlling a select few media players of your choice. In addition to this, there is a profile button for switching keyboard profiles as well as a back light button for switching between a fully illuminated keyboard, having just W A S D lit, or shutting it off completely.
Keyboard profiles.
The keyboard comes with a fancy program which allows you to store up to 10 keyboard profiles for on the fly switching. The profiles can be used for game specific macros or quick launch buttons and are fully customizable.
Macros.
These programmable macros are just awesome! You can program any and every key, other then the media keys on the touch pad, frowny face. They allow up to 16 key combinations per macro, and even have the ability to program delays in between key strokes. In addition to this, you can program any specific keys you want as quick launch buttons for other programs.
Bugs?
Well, upon first using the keyboard, I experienced a problem with Windows Media Player eternally opening during a round of Killing Floor, very annoying while trying to bitch slap a flesh pounder. A driver update seemed to solve the problem, I hope. In the past many users have experienced a myriad of problems with this keyboard, from sticky keys, to poor backlighting, but from what I can see, it seems ironed out. But don't quote me on that.
The bottom line.
The Razer Lycosa is a amazing piece of kit, but for the price is it worth it? Hell yeah it is. A fully customizable keyboard, macros, anti-ghosting, illuminated keys, and a slew of other features I don't have the time to even mention! Did I say it comes with stickers?
Anyone want some stickers?
UPDATE DEC 20th
After having this thing for over a month, and playing gaming marathons for extended periods of time, I have indeed experienced the problems plaguing other users, keys becoming "stuck" or failing to even respond. This is not a ghosting problem, where a key fails to respond while several other keys are pressed. What this is, is a absolute disaster while playing, as keys such as W or S can become "stuck", forever walking forwards or backwards only to press the opposite key to stand still, keys like Enter C or even number keys can fail to respond, causing selecting weapons, crouching, talking in game or using menus impossible. The only remedy seems to be unplugging the keyboard and plugging it back in, which is an unforgivable faux pas for a "gaming keyboard".
Razer has already acknowledged there is indeed a problem with their lycosa line, "This issue is only present in certain serial numbers starting with MT0803, MT0802, MT0801 and MT07." As my keyboard (MT103) contains none of these serials, it would seem these issues are far more wide spread then they suspected.
Because of these issues, I have stricken my previous recommendation of this product. I suppose there's a lesson in here, "not all that glitters is gold" seems to fit the bill.
In the future, I'll test items to further breaking points to prevent myself looking like a jackass again, terribly sorry for that folks.
Now off to Razer support I go! I'll try to keep everyone updated.
UPDATE DEC 25th
Well, it looks like I'm officially finished with Razer's support experiences and have the full go ahead to exchange this eye candy for something else. That is, I do hope I can exchange this for something else, not just another Lycosa, as I would straight up refuse one at this point in the game. Although, anything beats this rubbish Compaq keyboard I'm currently using, oh how I despise PS/2.
This whole experience has inspired me to do something new with my reviews, rating the products.
LAYOUT
OPERATION
LIFESPAN
LAYOUT 8/10
The product is very pleasing on the eyes, and really is a show piece, that is, after the ridiculous wrist support is removed.
OPERATION 2/10
Overall, the operation of this device is wonderful, that is, if it worked correctly all the time. Having to unplug and plug back in a device, (especially a keyboard) during game play to make it function properly is just unforgivable.
LIFESPAN 6/10
The device seemed well built, the rubber coated keys show no signs of peeling, nor did the keys pop up. It also was an overall "sturdy" feeling to the device. But, somewhere in the back of my mind, I was always afraid I was going to break this dainty thing.
FINAL SCORE
The Razer Lycosa scored 16/30 on the LOL scale.
Feel free to read the support experience at Razer below.