n30 Game Mouse

The Mouse Feel/Shape

After playing with the SpeedPad for a bit, we decided to pair it up with its sister product, the Nostromo n30 Game Mouse. First impressions upon taking it out of the box were, shall we say, less than ecstatic. If my history of mice is correct the shape of the first mouse wasn't too far off from this one. Blocky? Check. Unwieldy? Check. For all the attempts that the SpeedPad made to be comforting to the hand, the mouse could only have been worse if it were truly a cube.

Our next gripe could vary from person to person, as it is all really up to how your hand fits. My hand isn't particularly large, nor is it dainty. In spite of my seemingly normal hands, the mouse was too high for my tastes. If it had a more sloped back the results might have been different. Compared to other mice, the Nostromo was also rather short for its height. Comparing it to the Logitech mice I use, the Nostromo was as tall as the Mouseman (the big boy with the blue LED), but the length of it was shorter than the Logitech Wheel mouse (the smaller one). My hand didn't quite fit into the tall and stubby category. I had my friend try it - his hand engulfed the entire thing. Since the length of the mouse was so short, his fingertips and most of his finger landed well beyond the buttons. He'd have to hold the mouse in a region where no mouse existed, which last time I checked was the reason for a long sloped back on the majority of other mice.

n30 mouse

More of the n30

The wire offset

Also note that the wire on the mouse is not centered like, oh say, every other mouse on the market. We don't know what went through Belkin's mind on this decision, but the results were not particularly good on our end. Movement became rather strange, and there was always a tugging on one side, this in turn threw off proper movements. Pleased we were not.

Front shot

Underbelly

The buttons

The buttons were one of the few things we enjoyed about the mouse, although even here there were shortcomings. The feel of the buttons was great; each of them gave a nice click and rebound. The side button called, and we kid you not, the Battle Wing, had an interesting position. It was made so that you could rest your thumb beneath it. Which is a great idea, as I have had many an erroneous click with the thumb buttons. So much that I actually don't use it while I'm gaming. Now the bad, the mouse wheel has no button that can be pressed. I was actually stunned by the lack of this, I seriously cannot think of a mouse that doesn't have this.