As a follow up from the VGU G19 Rage Fit Stress test we’ve moved on to every keyboard’s best friend, the mouse. Specifically the Logitech G602 wireless gaming mouse. This time we’ll be taking the mouse over multiple terrains to see how it copes with a bit of ‘off roading’. Each of the terrains featured in this article are tested within a game of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, much like the G19 keyboard was. So let’s get into it and see where the G602 glides like a butterfly and where it stalls like an old pick up.
Terrain 1: Cloth Mouse mat
In the interest of fairness it’s only fitting to observe the mouse in its natural habitat first. A standard cloth gaming mouse mat is where you would expect the G602 to perform flawlessly, and it lives up to those expectations. Although suffering from the weight of 2 AA batteries inside it, the G602 moves effortlessly across the mat. The large pads on the base of the mouse means it has a good surface area contact with the mat and the low friction plastic means there is very little resistance, which is good as it compensates for the weight of the mouse.
There isn’t really much more to say in this test, the mouse works well on a mouse mat, go figure.
Result: 9/10 – Bit too much junk in the trunk.
Terrain 2: Plastic topped desk
Some gamers don’t like to use a mouse mat, which is understandable if you’re more of a casual gamer, so it only seems fitting to put the G602 in its secondary environment for the next test.
Surprisingly the mouse actually glided faster over the white plastic desk than it did over the black mouse mat. This is due to the 2 types of plastic being almost frictionless when in contact. The downside of how fast the mouse can move, combined with its aforementioned weight, means that if you let go of the mouse or it slips from your hand, that thing is gonna sail across the desk in a break for freedom.
So, plastic desk is also not a challenge for the G602, as long as you’re not a butterfingers there should be no issue with using the mouse on a matless surface.
Result: 8.5/10 – Keep it on a leash if you’re clumsy
Terrain 3: Glass
Oh dear. Some of you may be unaware that glass mouse mats actually exist and are used quite often. However this is a stress test, so no more mouse mats, this glass is from a photo frame. It’s clean and smooth and just god awful to use.
I could barely get the cursor to move and when it did, it moved like I was having a fit. Very shaky, very unresponsive and very frustrating, I was barely able to buy weapons using the mouse at the start of the round, and very often I bought the wrong one as it took so long for me to get over to where I wanted to click.
The glass also didn’t do the plastic pads any favours either, leaving them rather scratched after use. All in all, the mouse did not perform well on a piece of glass taken from a photo frame. At least we learned something today.
Result: 2/10 – Photo frames do not make good mouse mats.
Terrain 4: Leg (with tracksuit pants)
Now we’re just getting silly. If you’ve already come to the conclusion that the G602 performed horribly on a trouser leg, then you’ll be happy to hear that you’re completely wrong. No really, the mouse actually performed extremely well on my leg for the rounds that I used it on there.
It was responsive, moved smoothly and picked up all the movements I was making in CS:GO. The main issue wasn’t actually with the material and the mouse being compatible, but with the fact that the human leg is curved by design, so the mouse would get dropped often or I would run out of “mouse mat”.
The fact that the trousers being worn for this test were black also helped with their compatibility with the mouse as gaming mice work better on a block colour than an array of different colours, hence why Logitech gaming surfaces are fully black.
Although the mouse performed well on a leg, it’s not a surface I’d recommend to the hardcore gamer as it’s still a little awkward to use, however for more casual games like MMOs where you just want to lay back, hey, this could be the mouse/surface combo for you.
Result 7/10 – Human legs need a flatter design.
Terrain 5: Weaved Raffia
No I’m not just finding things around the house now…but this table mat is made of weaved raffia, a palm tree native to Africa, specifically Madagascar. Didn’t think today would be the day you’d have a geography lesson within a stress test did you.
This surface performed better than you’d expect, but not as well as you’d hope. Although the mouse travelled slightly smoother than on the glass surface, due to the weaved make-up of the surface, the hole for the laser would get caught on the raffia. The surface is also extremely uneven when it comes to laser tracking standards, so the cursor and crosshair would often jump wildly without warning whenever you hit a dip or bump in the surface.
Another surface that isn’t recommended, sorry people of Madagascar, but your mouse mat export business just isn’t going to cut it.
Result: 4.5/10 – Plants and technology do not mix.
Terrain 6: Cork
Another one of those “everything went better than expected” moments here. The small cork board performed similarly to the Raffia, moving smoothly for some periods but getting caught on the odd piece of wood. It was certainly playable though and some kills were made using the cork board. The G602 didn’t seem to feel like it was struggling to recognise the cork as a viable surface, the main problem was the user trying to use such a small surface to game on.
If push came to shove and an apocalypse comes that wipes all mouse mats of the face of the earth, a cork board certainly isn’t the worst surface to game on the G602, it’s not a game killing experience by any stretch, but it’s also not a game enhancing one – unless you like unfair handicaps.
Result: 6/10 – Cork belongs in bottles more than under a mouse