Wow, this has to be the shiniest mouse in the world! And that’s what Mad Catz is. It’s a brand that’s over the top, and radical. Some people aren’t into all the glitz, but I must say, it’s a brave choice for the gaming brand.
The Mad Catz R.A.T 8 Adv gaming mouse is the latest release in the R.A.T gaming line. It features a whopoping 11 buttons, and has so many adjustable parts, that it’s easy to get lost in fine tuning your setup. Gamers though will love this though for sure, and it proves that Mad Catz are focussing on a wide variety of gamers, rather than just honing in on one part of the industry.
On top are your usual left and right clicks, but there’s an extra button which is pressed with your first finger. The scroll wheel and an ajustable DPI button is present here too. Down the left hand side are two standard thumb buttons, a second scroll wheel, which isn’t exactly a scroll wheel as turning it either way can perform two separate actions and act as buttons. I can only really think of leaning where this could be useful in a game of Squad or Hell Let Loose. There’s an extra button that will sit at your thumb tip which is supposed to help you with precision shooting with a sniper rifle. Down here is also a thumb rest, which very much sticks out of the edge of the Mad Catz R.A.T 8.
Around back you can find an adjustable palm rest, depending on the size of your hands, and it moves in and out on a clip system. Underneath this is an adjustable weight set, so you can choose how heavy you want the mouse, depending on your play style. There are parts down the right hand side that are also interchangable too so you can connect a rest for your pinky finger. It’s all very innovative, and as I said, customisation is huge here. You even get a couple of adapters in the box which have different textures depending on your preference.
The only issue is though with all of these customisations, it makes the Mad Catz R.A.T 8 a very fiddly mouse to get right. I adjusted the rear palm rest, and it came off. And it took me ages to get it back on its run again. There’s also the oppotunity here to make the mouse wider and skinnier depending on preference. You need to use a HEX key, and hole can be found in the centre of the mouse. Oh, by the way, this mouse is pretty much open meaning you can see its insides. It’s the Mad Catz style, and it’s pretty unique to them. Anyway, the HEX key is stored on the mouse itself, and it’s very easy to remove and use to widen the mouse if desired.
But, the question is, with all this customisation, is the Mad Catz R.A.T 8 a comfortable mouse to use while gaming? Unfortunately, not so much, especially if you’re someone with smaller hands. The R.A.T 8 is pretty big as it is I can’t deny that. But the way the rear of the mouse is higher than the buttons, makes the rear of the mouse almost stick into my palm in an uncomfortable way. It almost feels like the mouse shape doesn’t fit my hand, like if you put a left shoe on your right foot. Sure you can walk with it, but it’s a little uncomfortable in doing so. That’s how I felt with the Mad Catz R.A.T 8 Adv gaming mouse.
The R.A.T 8 performs well where it counts though. Inside it’s all being run by a Pixart PMW 3389, which can achieve a 16,000 DPI sensitivity and up to 2,000Hz polling rate which is the interesting number. Most gaming mice these days achieve 1000Hz, so for Mad Catz to double that, it’s decent. It’s a shame that the software where you change your settings looks a little dated though.
The Mad Catz R.A.T 8 Adv gaming mouse sure is eccentric. But, I think I like it. It certainly gives us PC gamers something to tinker with, as I know most of you out there like doing. It also gives users the chance to adjust the mouse to something they find most comfortable. Whether it’s a bit of extra width or length for your palm, or weight or even customise buttons, there’s something that can be fine tuned to suit your play style. The RGB effects are pretty bare bones, only illuminating the internals, but what can I say, it’s not Mad Catz style. They love their retro, cyberpunk, steampunk, futuristic looking mice. And the red shiny colour only accentuates that.
