Hands on with all of SteelSeries. All of it. [CES 2014]

CES is always filled with appointments, whether you are on the show floor or at a hotel suite spending some quality time with the company you are traveling with. SteelSeries year in and year out seems to always make you feel at home, inviting you over to their suite to check out some of their latest PC accessories. This year was no different, as it announced a day before the opening of CES that SteelSeries will be releasing a couple of new accessories to the biggest technology show in the United States.

I got a chance to hang out with two of my favorite people from SteelSeries as we sat and talked about the Stratus Wireless Controller and the Sensei Wireless Gaming Mouse.

The first thing we had the chance to chat about was the SteelSeries Stratus. During my demo, we had a few of the controllers available, each connected to a different iPad. In order to test the controller out fully, we booted up Grand Thief Auto San Andreas. Even though the controller looks rather small, it felt really good after picking it up. There is a transparent cover that protects it as well and you can attach it to the back to make the controller a bit bigger, raising the comfort level for those with bigger hands.

The controller itself was really responsive, from the analog stick to the directional-pad to the buttons themselves.  It is also one of first Bluetooth controllers that small that would have L2 and R2 buttons. When the controller is fully charged you will get around 10 hours of gameplay. The red LED indicator lets you know the number of controllers or players that are connected during multi-player games. You can have up to 4 players on a single device. The Stratus only works for the iOS 7 devices and supports games like Grand Thief Auto: San Andreas, Call of Duty: Strike Team, LIMBO, Bastion, Riptide GP2, and Dead Trigger 2. SteelSeries already have a Bluetooth controller for Android, called the SteelSeries Free, if that’s your platform of choice.  The SteelSeries Stratus Controller is available for pre-order for the price of $99.99.

Next, we went over to another table and sat in front of a gaming laptop they had set up to try out the Sensei Wireless Gaming Mouse. The game we demoed was Counter Strike: Global Offensive. The first thing I noticed as soon as I got my hands on the mouse was that it has a more rubberized finish on the top and grip area. SteelSeries notes that this will minimize finger prints, allowing your mouse to always look clean. However, I’m not sure what would happen after you eat an entire bag of chips, but I wasn’t able to see any of my finger prints at the time.

Right up front, I will state that I have never been a fan of wireless gaming mice, mostly because I want that minimal lag and accurate reaction time that wired mice provide. As I started to play Counter Strike the response time with the mouse was outstanding; it truly felt like I was playing on a wired mouse. The ergonomics of the mouse made it feel extremely comfortable to use, too, as the slope and arch might lessen the wear during long gaming sessions. With my hands being large I didn’t get that feeling that I was engulfing the mouse with mitts, and I had enough room for my hands to breathe around the edges, alleviating the probability of sweaty palms. I also notice that there was no option to add any additional weights to the mouse, something that customizers prefer. The rep told me that because the mouse is heavy enough, there was no need to add that feature. They were right: the weight of the mouse felt just right for me. This is particular from person to person, so you have been warned.

Battery life will be around 16 hours, and will max out at 20 hours with the Engine 3 Battery Save Mode. The Sensei Wireless Mouse comes with an aluminum base station that also acts as the receiver. No more having to worry about a USB dongle and losing it, as this latest generation of gaming accessories seem to come prepared with charging bases. The station also lets you know when the mouse battery is running low with colored LEDs. You can even change those colors if you want to spice things up. And, in case the battery is running low and you’re in the heat of a match, you will be able to connect a braided USB cord to continue gaming. The SteelSeries Sensei Wireless Mouse will be available around March 2014 for the price of $159.99.

Overall, both SteelSeries products show a lot of promise, and I believe they can deliver. If you are looking for a good Bluetooth controller for your iOS 7 devices and a wireless mouse for your PC, these two are worth looking forward to.