INTRODUCTION

   So far 4 great things have happened this month, first Ubisoft Montreal released Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon (retro FPS that no one saw coming), SOE gave 1 free premium month to all of their PlanetSide 2 players (both Free and Premium members), Metro Last Light by Deep Silver/4A Games finally made it to retail (after several unfortunate incidents that led to the dismantle of THQ and sale of their assets to several game developers/publishers) and finally Mad Catz launched both their M.O.U.S.9 and R.A.T.M Bluetooth wireless mice. Now as most of you are aware we did test the M.O.U.S.9 a few days ago which in the end left us with mixed impressions especially because of its rather low DPI and somewhat high price tag so although my quest for the perfect notebook wireless mouse continues it's very possible that the R.A.T.M wireless mobile gaming mouse which we have here with us will be the one to rule them all.

   Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. (“Mad Catz”) (NYSE MKT: MCZ) is a global provider of innovative interactive entertainment products marketed under its Mad Catz® (gaming), Tritton® (audio), and Saitek® (simulation) brands. Mad Catz also develops flight simulation software through its internal ThunderHawk Studios™; operates flight simulation centers under its Saitek brand; publishes games under its Mad Catz brand; and distributes games and videogame products for third parties. Mad Catz distributes its products through most leading retailers offering interactive entertainment products and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For additional information please go to www.madcatz.com.

   Since both the M.O.U.S.9 and the R.A.T.M got released at the same time an comparison is really unavoidable and so the first thing that you will notice about the R.A.T.M is its 6400DPI/50G Twin-Eye PLN 2033 4G dual laser sensor by Philips (can be used with 2 different DPI presets) which is worlds apart compared to the 990DPI/8G Avago 8020 laser sensor used in the M.O.U.S.9 (always in terms of speed). The rest of the specifications and features are pretty much the same and so both mice feature the latest Bluetooth 4.0 for improved power efficiency, GameSmart technology and 10 programmable buttons. Design-wise both the R.A.T.M and the M.O.U.S.9 are very similar however for good or bad the R.A.T.M is quite smaller than the already small M.O.U.S.9.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The R.A.T.M arrived in the same clear plastic package as the M.O.U.S.9 so you can see the top of device from the front prior to purchasing it.

Both the compatible OS and specifications lists are placed on the right side.

You can check the left side of the unit along with some of its features from the left side of the box.

The specifications of the R.A.T.M are listed at the rear in 6 languages and are showcased with the help of several small images.

The bundle is also rich and identical with the one of the M.O.U.S.9 so once again aside the mouse unit in the package you will also find two alkaline AAA batteries, carrying pouch, user’s manual, warranty paper, warning paper, 3 Mad Catz stickers and two papers about Damage Inc. the game and Combat Pilot.

THE R.A.T.M

Although rather small (99mm in length, 75mm in width, 36mm in height) the R.A.T.M looks great especially thanks to the glossy coating (although the black matte version should offer better grip).

Here you can see exactly how smaller the R.A.T.M is compared to the M.O.U.S.9.

The R.A.T.M has 3 buttons on the left side, 2 regular ones and a 5D one which can be used as 5 different ones (up/down/left/right/click).

Two activity LEDs are placed right above (DPI, Connection Status).

Once again the Mad Catz logo is placed on the palm rest.

The Palm Rest extends a total of 15mm but since the bottom is longer it only extends the total length of the mouse for 4mm.

Much like the M.O.U.S.9 the battery compartment of the R.A.T.M is placed right beneath the palm rest (easier to use also).

Another button is placed on the far left right next to the left primary button.

Although the R.A.T.M belongs to the R.A.T family of gaming mice the swappable pinkie rest didn't make it here either.

Just over the inaudible scroll wheel Mad Catz has placed another button (DPI selection switch).

There are 3 very large (compared to the size of the mouse) Teflon feet beneath the R.A.T.M.

The power on/off button and the USB nano dongle storage area are placed right next to the Philips Twin-Eye laser sensor.

The USB nano dongle is the same size as the one used with the M.O.U.S.9.

CONTROL PANEL

Since there's also no software CD bundled in the box of the R.A.T.M you will need to download the latest drivers and software from the Mad Catz support page.

Again the control panel offers basic control over only a few functions of the R.A.T.M and so through here you can program all 10 buttons (assign keys, shortcuts, macros or programs), create macros (and also assign icons to each), save them all to different profiles (the R.A.T.M lacks onboard memory so profiles are saved on your computer), set the DPI LED timer, configure the DPI speed, adjust the precision control sensitivity and check for updated drivers, profiles and software.

As you can see the only illumination the R.A.T.M has is the DPI/Connection LEDs (naturally since we are talking about a wireless mouse).

CONCLUSION

   The R.A.T.M was used primarily with Metro Last Light (which is amazing, although it only lasted for about 2 days) and PlanetSide 2 for a total of 5 days and in the end although it proved better than the M.O.U.S.9 it still wasn't perfect. You see the Twin-Eye PLN 2033 laser sensor does a great job since it's very fast and accurate, the 10 programmable buttons help a lot (especially the 5D one), weight is ok, gliding is very good and so is the design but because of its small size the grip is actually inferior compared to that of the M.O.U.S.9. So even today and after giving it much thought i can't really figure out the reason as to why Mad Catz decided to make the R.A.T.M so small. We did all think that they might have taken that route to make it easier to store inside your notebook bag but the M.O.U.S.9 is already small enough for that. Of course if you've got small to medium hands the size of the R.A.T.M should be ok (especially with the palm rest extended) but for people with medium to large hands even the M.O.U.S.9 may not be large enough (although it was ok for my hands). Some of you have pointed out that we didn't comment on the battery life of the M.O.U.S.9 but really after one week of use although the battery levels fell down to roughly 60% we can't really say if the battery will last for another week, two, or two months since it all depends on the how long you use it and most people don't really use their notebooks for long periods of time, certainly not nearly as much as we use our desktop systems.

   With a current price tag set at USD122.83 inside the USA (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com) and at around 110Euros inside the EU the R.A.T.M is actually doing better (price-wise) than the M.O.U.S.9 something which i didn't really expect not after taking into account their specifications and performance. Because of that and also because of its lightning fast Philips Twin-Eye laser sensor the R.A.T.M may not be the perfect wireless gaming mouse due to its very small size but it still is a complete solution for gamers, enthusiasts and professionals and that's why it receives our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Performance/Accuracy (6400DPI/50G)
- 10 Programmable Buttons
- Adjustable Palm Rest
- Bluetooth 4.0 (Energy-Efficient)
- GameSmart Technology 

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Size (For Some)