Long ago, circa 1998, a lone warrior came out of the ball-driven dark ages and gave us a weapon with which to slay our enemies. This weapon was the Boomslang 1000 gaming mouse. It’s form factor was totally unique as was it’s performance. This form factor and performance persisted in it’s descendants the Boomslang 2000, 2100, and 2500. Then, just as soon as it arrived it had left us for more contoured, optically-controlled input devices. While the technology is far beyond the performance of it’s ball-driven ancestors, there has always been this void in the gaming world…Now again, when it is needed, the warrior has stepped from the shadows and presented us with a new weapon: The Boomslang CE 2007.
Packaging: The Boomslang CE 07 is packaged in a very classy black cardboard box with a large metal clasp that keeps it closed. As if that weren’t enough, upon opening this box and taking note of the certificate of authenticity with unit # (ours is 389 of 10,000), you see a familiar cylinder beneath. There was a time, my young gamers, that real mice came encased in metal cylinders, oh yes – and so it is here. This time, however, instead of the shiny tin of the original Boomslang, this case is a matte black metal with the Razer logo embossed on the top of it. Within we found the mouse and software, begging us to use them.
Design: Razer has brought the Boomslang design back in spades by adding a titanium-finish top to the mouse as well as ‘Phantom Green’ lighting effects. The scroll wheel is also slightly altered and now sports an arch-top design. For the uninitiated, the ‘Razer’ got it’s name from the shape of the original Boomslang, which resembled…an electric razer, go figure. It is strange after using so many newer, contoured mice to come back to the Boomslang. It’s familiar shape welcomes you back like a comfy old coat, that is, if your comfy coat sported ‘Phantom Green’ lighting – now that would be a cool coat!
Installation & Software: Installing the Razer software was a breeze and did not take very long whatsoever. The control panel is of a spartan nature, but does the job.
Performance: Razer packed this new Boomslang with a 3G Infrared sensor, previously found in the Death Adder. With a 1000Hz polling rate and 1800dpi sensitivity, the mouse is built for fraggin’, like we like. The mouse also has 32Kb of ‘Razer-Synapse’ memory for storing profiles. I tested this mouse for multiple rounds of gaming in BioShock and Crysis. The Boomslang CE 07 performs incredibly, providing the ultra-sensitive, yet very controlled power you would expect. Oddly enough, my brain and hand don’t expect it to glide so easily, as I am used to it rolling on a ball sensor. In desktop apps, the other arena I like to test mice in, I used Photoshop and MS Word. Unlike many gaming mice that have trouble transitioning to desktop usage, the Boomslang CE 07 has no trouble in this department and I never had to decrease the sensitivity once.
Conclusion: It is rare when a company can take something from the past and modernize it, simultaneously improving it while not taking away from the things that made it great. Razer has done just that with the Boomslang Collector’s Edition 2007. It is with a happy heart I bestow it the highest rating I can. Welcome back, old friend, you look great…
Get one of these as soon as you can before they sell out for good!
