StarCraft II Lineup - Marauder keyboard, Spectre mouse, Banshee headset

Taking design elements from Blizzard’s StarCraft II, Razer worked for 2.5 years and made a full set of gaming gear that not only looks like it belongs in the game but also has loads of features that tie it directly into the game. They worked with Blizzard and have code actually in the game that ties the hardware to it and makes it that much more functional. What kind of functionality? Loads!

First off there’s the color-coded alerts. The units as a whole can change to any of 16 million colors that you have  pre-defined when you reach a certain APM (actions per minute). So for example you can set it to be 0-50 APM all the units glow blue, 51-100 could be yellow, when you reach 400 APM it could all turn white or red or whatever color you want so that you and others around you know just how much work you’re doing in the game. The great thing about it all is that you don’t need a special driver to get it all setup, it’s already in the game. However, to utilize the full customization you’ll need the drivers installed.

Starting with the Marauder, they’ve optimized the keys to activate quickly but still maintained an activation pressure high enough to prevent accidental actuation. They saved some space on your desktop by combining the keypad with the arrow keys. It still has all of the same functionality, just in a smaller space. Extra features include a built-in wrist rest area and a 7-foot braided USB cable. Retail price: 119.99

The Spectre also have the StarCraft II logo on the top along with the three lights on each side for the APM lighting system. The mouse was optimized for a fingertip grip which Razer found was the way most of the Starcraft players would grip it. That means they optimized the design so that the five buttons are easily used and the mouse is shapes so that it works best when gripped with fingertips but still functions normally with full hand control. It’s got a 5600 DPI sensor and 1000Mhz polling with 1ms response. There’s a left side button resistance switch so that you can alter the pressure required to activate the button. Since it’s not being designed for a twitch-response FPS or TPS this means it can be tightened down and reduce accidental clicking. The mouse can also track up to 200 inches per second and up to 50g of acceleration. Good luck reaching those numbers! Finally the Spectre also features a 7-foot braided USB cable. Retail price: 79.99

The Banshee Headset, also features the distinct StarCraft II design asthetics and APM lighting system as the other pieces in the series. It features a fairly wide, padded headband along with full earcups that are designed to block out other sounds (as a tournament can be quite noisy) and allow you to maintain focus on your own gameplay. One of the really cool things they mentioned to me is that they have preset equalizer settings that will bring out the sounds of each race giving you a sort of unique audio experience when playing each one. The set features volume and mute buttons right on the unit so you don’t have to clip a cable to your shirt or fumble about for them. Since in tournaments you aren’t always teaming up with someone the mic boom is removable, which also helps with transporting the unit. Here’s some tech specs:

# Headphones
# Frequency Response: 20 - 20,000 Hz
# Impedance: 32? at 1kHz
# Sensitivity (@1kHz, 1V/Pa): >102dB at 1 kHz
# Drivers: 50 mm, with neodymium magnets

Microphone
# Frequency Response: 100 - 10,000 Hz
# Sensitivity (-42 dB ± 2dB @1kHz, 1V/Pa)
# Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >58 dB
# Pick-up pattern: Uni-directional

The Spectre StarCraft II Gaming Headset will retail for 119.99 (USD/Euro)

There was some mention of future features for the StarCraft II lineup including separate unit lighting functions. Right now all three units will share one setup. They’re most likely working on even more options as well.

There was certainly a lot to see at the Razer booth and they once again demonstrated why many in the industry deem them to be one of the top, if not the top peripheral maker in the game. With a wide range of offerings as well as licensed gear, they’re sure to have something for anyone who is serious about their gaming.