Razer Lycosa Keyboard Review

Tired of getting fragged (read:killed) every ten seconds in Team Fotress 2? Well I’d tell you to go play My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie’s Party Parade but the folks at Razer have a solution for you: their new Lycosa gaming keyboard.

Sporting a fully rubberized keys, Razer Lycosa is as sexy as keyboards can be. Without power, the whole thing looks completely black, as there are no markings on the key itself. The LED illumination trickles through the keys, giving it a slightly melancholic glow. Some have complained that the illumination is a tad too dim and while I would agree with them, Razer Lycosa isn’t meant for use in a brightly lit office environment. Put it in a slightly darker environment (don’t tell me you play games with all the lights on!) an this thing shines (pun intended). Users can switch between no illumination (typos galore!), WASD cluster illumination or all-lights-on mode.

The top right corner of the keyboard has eight touch sensitive buttons controlling multimedia playback as well the keyboard’s illumination. I’m not a fan of touch sensitive controls as you’ll never know immediately if the key-press has been registered, causing unnecessary frustration. The large Razer logo button allows the Windows key to be deactivated to avoid accidentally pressing it during a fragfest.

With fully programmable keys, users can totally annihilate their opponents (or so they think) using macros; the configuration utility is tastefully designed and quit easy to use unless you’re totally new to this. There are ten customizable profiles available which should prove to be sufficient even for the most hardcore gamer. Razer Lycosa has a pair of audio jacks (for headphones and mic-input) and a high-speed USB port (for the mouse) for easier access. This reduces the need to reach behind the PC every time you change headphones or mice. At $79.99, Razer Lycosa isn’t cheap. But if you prepared to dish out damage through whatever means necessary (spending big bucks included), this keyboard is probably as good as it gets.

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