Wolf King Warrior Keypad - review

[TAKTAK]

This is my first attempt at a review so go easy

Up for review today is a wolf king warrior gaming keypad.

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About Wolf King:
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A Gaming Enthusiast Focused Technology Company

WOLFKING is a world leader in the innovation and creation of gaming input devices. Featuring broad-based PC & Mac hardware/software compatibility and a diverse selection of options in color/shape customization, WOLFKING products utilize advanced engineering and unique ergonomic designs that deliver the ultimate gameplay experience.

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The claimed advantages:
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Improved Game play - custom designed for FPS and other PC games to give you precise control with one hand.

Follow your instincts - ergonomic circular keypad design gives you greater control with a more instinctive layout of the main keys used for FPS.

Oversized vertical space bar - with aligned “WASD” layout, dual “Ctrl” and custom enlarged keys to maximize comfort, increase control and fit all hand sizes.

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The Features:
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Communication keys - allow you to stay in touch with your friends at the touch of a button.

Weapon keys - convenient button access allows you to switch weapons quickly.

Auxiliary keys – give you the control you need to customize your gamepad according to your personal preferences.

Specially weighted keys - enables greater precision and control of keystrokes.

Plug & Play - USB. No drivers required

Customizable - height adjustment gives you better comfort.

Noise reducing technology- flexible 3-layer silicon membrane allows you to play quietly.

Quality & Performance- keyboard lifespan rated at over 10 million keystrokes.
Perfect solution for laptop gaming - also can be used with any regular keyboard.

Compact Lightweight - takes up little space on your desk and easy to carry.



and now to my part.....
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First up, Packaging:
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Overall the packaging is spot on...

there is enough cardboard and plastic to support/protect the keypad but it's not over the top "hey look at me i'm killing the earth"

front:

back:

inside: (yes i know it's allready plugged in)


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Connecting..
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very simple... just whack it in a spare USB port and off you go, plug and play all the way
but just incase you don't know where/how to plug it in, the manual explains:....


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First impressions
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It is actually very green....


it feels nice to mess around with and your hand is perfectly positioned over the correct keys (WASD and thumb falls perfectly on the vertical spacebar), all of the surrounding keys are easily accesable without streching to hit them

some of the keys are nicely oversized (such as O and B) which helps if your trying to hit them in a hurry, and it only requires a slight move of the thumb to get to them

there are additional volume controls on the side of the keypad just incase you need to turn it up/down mid battle.

there is also an easily accessible esc button to help get back into the lobby/menus and things, the good thing being that it's out of the way enough for you not to accidentally catch it but easily reachable.

all of the function keys are available aroung the top of the PAD, and are easy to get hold of and so are the generic number buttons.

there are two ctrl keys smack bang next to each other which (according to wolf king) "is to accomodate ranges of hand sizes", with my little finger falling perfectly onto the larger of the control keys

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Size:
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just for a comparison here it is next to a mouse.

it's not too big... and it's not too small... it's perfect to not take up too much space witout being overly cramped, which would make it perfect for LAN party's if your that way inclined, it's also got a nice weight to it (i.e. doesn't feel light you've just bought a sack of helium, but it also doesn't feel like it's made of lead)

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Underneath the beasty:
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on the underside there is actually a face....... i don't know wheter it was an accident or whether wolf king purposely wanted to add anthropomorphic features but anyway.. if you don't belive me heres a piccy:

^^^ told you....

on the underside, as well as anthropomophising the keyboard, there are some risers (like you would find on a standard keyboard) that allow you to adjust the incline of the keyboard to your preferences.

Obviously it is available in other colours than "envy"/vomit green but it's all down to personal preference



overall, it feels nicely made and keys are easily accessable.


PROS

Retails at around £19.99 (on SCAN) (there is also a black version that comes bundled with CS:S for the same price point)
Nice feel to the keys
The keys are nice and quiet (which they should be for a gaming pad, but should be IBM clicky for a standard keyboard)
Easy to use (you plug in and off you go)
Comfortable

CONS
in game chatting would require you to move over to your normal QWERTY KB
Takes a bit of getting used to, and for most games, some buttons need remapping

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Finally, teh Pandi awards 7/10, as it is good, but improvements could be made

[TAKTAK]

Plus the HEXUS review HERE

[moogle]

Does this make a difference when you play UT99?
I'll have to see if you guys are still playing matches.

Nice mini review

[TAKTAK]

Originally Posted by moogle

Does this make a difference when you play UT99?

yeah, i can almost hit something that moves now

[sleepyhead]

Nice review Taktak.

Be nice to have a performance review of how well you fare between the normal QWERTY setup and this Wolf King Pad thing.

On a serious note though, all it is, is a reshaped keyboard or are there programmeable buttons that you can script stuff to?

[Zak33]

Agreed...nice review Tak

I have one..it was so good I brought one for my mate Andrew to play CoD4 with. I think they're just great My game play is far better, with the F keys and number keys vastly easier to hit, the space key is perfect AND smaller than a normal one. I also find it easier to change stance (crouch and Prone) with it.

I have a black one but got Andy a white one when Scan had them on special offer ad tbh it's easier to use in the dark than mine, so I'd suggest sticking with brighter colours for anyone considering one.

Mine is ALWAYS plugged in, and sits under my desk for emergency CoD4 gaming

[TAKTAK]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Nice review Taktak.

Be nice to have a performance review of how well you fare between the normal QWERTY setup and this Wolf King Pad thing.

On a serious note though, all it is, is a reshaped keyboard or are there programmeable buttons that you can script stuff to?

erm.. for the performance review... i can now hold my own against bots on "inhuman" instead of just getting pwned by loque (the vertical space bar helps a hell of a lot )

and as for the other point... yes... it is just a reshaped keyboard with buttons missing... but you assign keys to whateveryou want ingame...

or i'm sure there is a way to assign keyboard presses using software...


but i think the HEXUS review is much better and more informative than my rubbish thingy-ma-gloop


theres just one thing i overlooked when i bought it...... i have no games to play with it , they've all gone walk abouts.... i may go and buy CS:S now....

[Zak33]

£16.44 on Scan for a white one
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=522393

[TAKTAK]

i didn't get mine from SCAN i got it from the local (maxwell computers) i stood there chatting for ages to the loverly lady (who actually knew what she was talking about) and she reccomended it and gave me a lil discount which brought the price down to £26, but she said that they can't compete with SCANs prices as they're too big and order in bigger quantities, so she couldn't discount it anymore otherwise she'd be garrotted

theres the black version on SCAN for £20 that is bundled with CS:S as well... but as Zakk says... the keys are easier to see on lighter ones...

[sleepyhead]

Originally Posted by TAKTAK

theres just one thing i overlooked when i bought it...... i have no games to play with it , they've all gone walk abouts.... i may go and buy CS:S now....

Warsow is free and is similar to Quake and UT

Tempting me to get one now...but its something I don't need, much like a 27" Dell Monitor...

[TAKTAK]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead

Tempting me to get one now...but its something I don't need

yeah.... but at £16.99 it's a steal..........


the price of a decent pizza and a drink....


if you don't get that... at least get THIS....

[sleepyhead]

Originally Posted by TAKTAK

yeah.... but at £16.99 it's a steal..........


the price of a decent pizza and a drink....

Exactly!!! I can EAT a pizza and drink some fizzy stuff...I can't do that with the Wolf King Pad thing.

[N1Andy]

I got my black one from the "today only" at scan, and gotta say I love it! The only problem for me is that the keys feel very spongey and sometime you can have your finger on a key (say to run) and it'll act as if you've released the key - a bit annoying, but otherwise it's fab.

[N1Andy]

Oh, just to add that I bought the Wolfking Trooper mouse at the same time and that's also fab - love the autofire on the left button (is programmable as 1 click/2 click or 3 click) and is perfect for when using a pistol ingame.

[TAKTAK]

Originally Posted by N1Andy

and sometime you can have your finger on a key (say to run) and it'll act as if you've released the key - a bit annoying

yeah... i get that... but i generally find it is because my finger has raised up and released the key without my knowing (i think it's the angle i have it at...)

[N1Andy]

Originally Posted by TAKTAK

yeah... i get that... but i generally find it is because my finger has raised up and released the key without my knowing (i think it's the angle i have it at...)

haha, I do find it very frustrating when trying to stay prone and all of a sudden it thinks I've released the key and makes me stand up mid firefight