SteelSeries goes back to the design room for a right handed mouse with plenty of new features. It's time to see if the Rival can stand its ground.

SteelSeries have long been established as one of the major players for enthusiast gaming peripherals. When we reviewed their Sensei mouse a while back we found it to be one of the best gaming mice around and they had huge success with their World of Warcraft devices, the first edition selling so...

When it comes to mice, SteelSeries over the past few years has basically stuck with a single design that they have used on multiple mice. We first saw it with the Xai and later the Sensei but they have also used it on various branded mice and a smaller version on the Kinzu as well.

If you need a gaming mouse than this is it! It's that simple!

Steelseries has a reputation for no-nonsense, solid gaming performance. Recent keyboard efforts may not have lived up to our expectations, but we've always had a strong respect for its mice, especially the Sensei, which is one of the most precise, full-featured gaming devices we've had the pleasure...

An ergonomic design that works and solid features lend to the SteelSeries Rival's many strengths as a gaming mouse.

SteelSeries is no slouch when it comes to computer peripherals designed with the enthusiast in mind. Their latest creation, the Rival, is a precision, "back to basics" wired optical mouse.

Button Feel; Custom Illumination; SteelSeries Engine 3 Software; Extremely Accurate

Six Buttons; Very Light

The SteelSeries Rival is about as bare-bones as a gaming mouse can be. Only six buttons and a scroll wheel? Madness!

"He is the Asian guy with black hair, brown eyes, and glasses," I told my friend. "Oh yeah, I know that guy!", my friend replied, albeit with a slight tone of sarcasm that can be clearly sensed from a mile away without any further explanation required.

The SteelSeries Rival optical gaming mouse ($59.99) is a perfectly good product, but it should have been better. Despite an ingenious design and a smart array of features, something about both the mouse and the software that accompanies it feels halfhearted.

Comfortable design with excellent grips; Smart button layout; Comprehensive software

No DPI indicator; Weak illumination; Nothing to set it apart from other mice