Gamers know what they want from a mouse: sensitive, accurate, responsive aiming along with plenty of configurable buttons and a comfortable, well-balanced feel. A good mouse should be like any companion that you'd bring with you to battle- solid, durable, dependable. And it doesn't hurt if a mouse offers some nifty lighting and looks that say "I conquer worlds from the safety of my screen".
The new Genius GX Gila Gaming Mouse hits most of these high points, and wins kudos for feeling very stable. Your average mouse might have surfaces and buttons that feel a little loose, or jiggle when pressed, or a scroll wheel that rolls unevenly. But the Gila is built like a rock- in mostly good ways- and certainly proved to be reliable in our tests. Unfortunately, some of those strengths also play against it- it's a bit heavy, and also has fairly awkward ergonomics that never felt comfortable. As an alternative to Razer or Mad Catz, it certainly offers competitive specs and every feature you could want, but it never quite convinced our reviewers.
Yesterday, we looked at a competitor, the ROCCAT Kone XTD. Neither of these brands are as well known here in the United States as in other territories, but both are aiming straight at US gamers hoping to grab a piece of the lucrative gaming peripheral market. As you might expect, the Gila checks most of the same boxes as the Kone XTD- adjustable DPI from 200 to 8200, plenty of multi-color, programmable LED lights (though only three zones), and manually alterable weights that you can swap in or out to fit your needs. Onboard memory allows you to store profiles when switching computers. The Gila adds a few more buttons- 12 total- but four of them we found to be basically unusable, as they require grip contortions that make them suitable only for occasional use. There are only so many spots to press on a mouse that make sense, and it can quickly get hard to tell which one you are clicking- a very bad thing in a firefight when you mean to throw a grenade and instead bring up the map.
The sharp style of the Gila means edges, which meant surfaces that fingers can rub against and find uncomfortable. The size and shape of the body seem aimed at those with smaller hands- we found it a bit cramped, and a little hard to grip. The textures are great, and the mouse wheel is one of the best we've tried, and even the cabling is sturdy and feels well-finished. But in longer sessions of EVE or Star Trek: Online, our fingers and mid-palm started to hurt. Others may find it to be shaped correctly, but anyone will notice a few abrasions from the raised edges of the Gila. Setup is simple, though the software isn't anything special- it gets the job done but is not as configurable as some setups we've seen in the past. It's a shame, since we really did like the slightly heavier balance and tank-like durability. At $70 or so, available online, the Genius GX Gila is a good value too.