The Handling and Gameplay
The reason I’m brandishing my hairy, scary forearm here is to talk about the handling and feel of this mouse. In their design of the Sidewinder Mouse, Microsoft has followed the trend in gaming mice and made their device rather large. The device is no bigger in length and height than my beloved Logitech MX1000 (a mouse I should probably admit to considering perfect), but the Sidewinder feels…different. It just feels…well…big. Big like the first generation Xbox controllers that only Shaquille O’Neal could love and why it sucked in Japan because no one could use them.
Where as the Logitech MX1000 (and by extension the G5, G7, and MX518 which are all based off the MX1000 design) lets my hand rest on the mouse, the Microsoft Sidewinder has my hand just cupping and palming the mouse. This is most likely due to Microsoft’s design decision to place the high point of the mouse near the back rather than in the centre like Logitech. I didn’t find it very comfortable. The closest I could describe it was like handling clay that was cold and without any pliability. Due to my hand position I found my fingers weren’t as relaxed on the buttons; they were more in a "claw" shape.
First off I loaded up a rather well known FPS game; Call of Duty 4. The game is nice way to ease into testing, as the movements in it are very intentional and controlled. The game does border on the tactical shooter genre in single player. In this environment, the adjustable DPI and extra-sensitive laser sensor both shined. I was able to draw a bead on the enemy easily, and neutralize them quickly.
Though I did enjoy my game play in CoD4, I still found the mouse uncomfortable. I did get used to it, but it always made it’s presence known. Compared to a similar amount of game play with my Logitech MX1000, the Sidewinder just felt a little ham-fisted. With all that in mind, I decided to move on to what is easily my favourite FPS game of 2007.
Team Fortress 2 is a bit of a different animal than Call of Duty 4. Where as the movement and combat in CoD4 are much more intentional and controlled, the same aspects in TF2 are very frantic and kinetic. In combat I found the adjustable DPI invaluable. Since TF2 is a class based first person shooter, you’ll be wearing many hats and will be expected to adjust to a constantly changing battlefield. As a sniper I was able to change to a low DPI setting to further enhance my accuracy when scoped, and should any spies try any funny business I could switch to a higher DPI and my Machete very quickly and cleave the offender in two. Dudey! As for the swappable feet, they seemed to help out with the Scout class. With these accessories, I could increase the amount of friction in the movement of the Sidewinder. This allowed me to smooth out the Scout’s ultra fast movement, and made my scatter-gun something to be feared.
As for the experience itself, I played a good 2 hour session and my impressions of the Sidewinder Mouse turned out worse than with the time spent playing CoD4. Though the movement was fluid, the mouse was once again very uncomfortable. After an hour of playtime, I had to take a 15 minute break to let the pain in my hand and wrist subside. This is something I’ve never experienced with my MX1000, and I’ve had it in so many environments. This is most likely due to the afore mentioned design elements of the Sidewinder Mouse. It’s high point causes you to have to cup your hand around the mouse, and more of your wrist on the mousing surface.
Admittedly some gamers out there will like the design, and find it very useful. As for me, I’ll be holding onto my Logitech MX1000 until one of us croaks. With what I experienced in mind, I think it’s time for me to wrap this review up.
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