Ratings: Ease of Use, Performance: 25/25, Look & Feel: 24/25, Features 22/25, How much I enjoy 24/25
Total: 95/100
The definitive word in gaming keyboards is Ideazon and now they bring you the Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard. With the keyboard program Z Engine and the great gaming key set you get the fantastic gaming features you need in a gaming keyboard.
Add the elegance of the black body and the cool looking illuminated keys and you have a winning combination of style and usefulness. The Ideazon Merc Stealth is a great looking keyboard by itself but when you add in the very convenient and ergonomic design of the additional gaming keys you have a winning keyboard.
Some key features from the Ideazon website:
Illumination: Perfect for gaming in the dark
Astounding three color illumination in Red, Blue and Purple
Choose your level of brightness
Illuminated characters on every key
Dedicated Gaming Terrain: Amazing touch and response for hours of comfortable gaming
Rubberized movement keys for superior response
Tilted 11 degrees to match natural wrist position
34 gaming keys labeled and positioned for ultimate precision and control
Simultaneous key stroke response-no need to worry about phantom keys in the heat of the battle
Z Engine Software: Industry leading software allows gamers to easily customize every gaming experience
Programmable with easy-to-use drag-and-drop macro editing
Over 125 pre-defined key mapping layouts
Control Center: Rule all your PC gaming peripherals from one hub
Two USB 2.0 ports to plug in mice and other peripherals
Gold plated audio jacks for headsets and microphones
Multimedia controls for in and out of game use
The Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard comes with your regular keyboard keys for typing and general computer use. The number keypad is a bit different and the only real thing that I have found to be missing is the dedicated key for delete. The home, insert, page up, page down and of course the delete keys are tied in to the number locks.
This means that to use the delete key on the number pad you have to make sure the number locks is off. Of course if you want to have a key designated as delete or anything else full time you just use the easy to install and use Z Engine to assign a key to whatever you want. I like the app key for a full time delete that is between the right control and the windows button but you can assign anything to whatever you want.
When installing the keyboard you need to make sure you have the appropriate drivers and this might mean a trip to the Ideazon website for the most current ones. I had no problem once I got Vista to accept the installation and I am using my keyboard for both gaming and my everyday work.
Typing and general computer work is great and the keyboard functions very well. The keys are a good size and not in any odd places except for a couple of the special functions that I mentioned. Using the numbers and other keys of the keypad just takes a little getting used to. The addition of the gaming keys and using them in a game such as my still favorite Battlefield 2142 is great. No switching keysets or having to start some special program just to play a game. You can set up the Z Engine for games but it is just a mouse click away with the Z Engine icon in your taskbar.
You can create or download mods to the keyboard that have certain key assignments that are done by opening the Z Engine program and simply assigning keys using the edit portion. You can also download gaming mods that others have created for games such as the Battlefield series, Guild Wars and World of Warcraft. The mod is simple to install and you just right click the Z Engine icon in the taskbar and click on the mod you wish to use.
The illuminated keys are very nice in low light situations such as LAN parties for easy key work and being able to not miss that important key while gaming. There are three settings for changing the brightness from off to full as well as being able to change the color of the illumination. Yes, you heard me, you choose from Red, Blue or Purple at any time by pressing the small key with a circle and a cross in the middle next to the brightness key.
In normal room light the keys are illuminated from behind and the letters and other characters show up mostly as white. When in a darker room even the letters and such glow with the selected color for a truly unique show while playing at your favorite LAN event or just in your won dimly lit room. The adjustment for the brightness is over the first function keys along with several special keys that are assignable and some that are for multimedia. The multimedia keys in this area are not reassign able but are ones that you would not want to change such as play and volume control.
All the gaming keys can be reassigned for your particular style and game as well as almost all the other keys on the keyboard. There are also some nice preset keys that I would not want to change such as minimize, maximize and close key above the number key pad. Not only have they made some very useful gaming keys but Ideazon has taken into consideration that the Merc Stealth will be used all the time and by a wide variety of users.
The special keys setup is very handy and a pleasant surprise from an almost fanatically gamers perspective in the past. The keys like the assignable Roman numerals for opening web pages is nice but the ones like the Show Desktop and My Comp shortcuts are also a very handy feature for my writing work. These are two shortcuts that I use constantly and are a very nice feature of the MERC Stealth.
The MERC Stealth also has a nice feature in the array of connections that are offered on the front end of the keyboard. When you plug in the keyboard you are offered with three connections on the end of the cable in the USB and two audio connectors. The audio are for you headphones and microphone so you can not only plug in any USB device to the two USB 2.0 connections but you can also plug in your headsets with both the headphone and the microphone connections in the center of the keyboards front.
The gaming keys are where the MERC Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard stands out as well as where Ideazon has gotten their reputation in gaming peripherals. The gaming keys are laid out for comfort and ease of use while gaming giving you a full set of movement and action keys along with all the number keys that are preset as well as programmable.
The six movement keys and three other commonly used keys are rubber coated to provide you with constant gaming control even under the sweatiest of gaming intensity. Okay, your gaming might not get that intense but it is nice to have the rubber coated keys so you don’t accidentally slip off the keys while in intense moments of gaming as I have seen all too often when playing some really good games. The gaming keys allow you to have all the keys were you want them for the best setup in any game you wish and with the Z Engine you can program them how you want.
You can even use the mods of the Z Engine to let you know when you are using the keyboard mod with a particular program or game. The first red light on the row of indicators on the right side of the keyboard above the number pad is for the mod indicator. In the Z Engine you click on the My Custom Mods and place each mod into one folder called the Default under Custom Mods. This will show up under the Icon when you right click it on the Task bar as selectable mods.
In the Z Engine under each mod you select the Game EXE button and find the exe program that launches that game or program. When the computer uses that program and the mod is set for that in your Z Engine a red light comes on to let you know the keyboard is using the mod for that game or program.
If you want to use no program or game to link the keyboard with a game just delete everything in the box and when you have that mod selected the red light will be on all the time for that mod. This is a very handy way to ensure you have the mod on for each game when you enter the game, just glance at the power on indicator on the upper right side of the keyboard and when it’s on the keyboard is using the correct mod.
I really enjoy the ease of being able to change the key assignments as well as the great special keys that have been included with the Merc Stealth. While typing it is a pain to have to return and redo a bunch of typing because I accidentally hit the caps lock and don’t look at the screen for a few seconds of typing. Here is this long line of capitol words that I now have to change to small with the appropriate words in capitols. Using the handy Z Engine I can simply change the Caps Lock key to shift and another key such as the Load to my Caps Lock where it’s safely out of the way of my stubby fingers.
The MERC Stealth is a great keyboard and is perfect for the gamer who also does other work on his or her computer. I was lucky enough to get the MERC Stealth before the general release and I am very grateful I was able to check out this fantastic keyboard. The Z Engine works very well and is great to use with the Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard.
I highly recommend the Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard for a great gaming and general use keyboard that gives you the best of both the gaming and regular keyboard features.
