ROCCAT Isku Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅27-09-11
Conclusion

Back in March we reported on the Isku’s first appearance in public domain at the CeBIT 2011 Trade Show. Our article generated lots of discussion in the community amongst gamer’s world-wide. Though we have been waiting a long time for this release, it’s a shame that ROCCAT weren’t able to support us even though we delivered some exclusive content on this new release and spent time in Germany privately with them. 2 weeks after the release we are indebted to Meroncourt for providing our sample today!

So, was it worth the wait? Some 6 months have passed and Isku is indeed an exciting product. Just about every aspect of what a gaming keyboard should be is manifest in the Isku. Functionality is a key ingredient and thanks to the combination of EasyShift[+] and extensive ROCCAT software suite we are able to apply macros and commands to most areas on the keyboard.

Isku looks great during those late-night gaming sessions with its illuminated blue glow; this glow can be altered through 6 differnet brightness modes and even has a timeout duration that can be set to dim when keys are not being used. Isku carries with it the passion that ROCCAT have when designing products, their style is distinct, recognisable and highly favoured. Having ROCCAT Talk the idea with Isku is to team the keyboard up with ROCCAT Kone[+] to multiply the functionality and command instances.


Though Isku is a great product it does have some slight niggles. After a short period of usage it isn’t long before the keyboard is looking dirty with smears due to the glossy surface. The M Buttons upon first using the Isku cause you to have to shift your finger placement to the right – being a touch-typer it took me a bit of time to get used to this.

Priced at £69.99 ROCCAT Isku is priced to take on some tough contenders from the likes of SteelSeries, Razer and Tt eSPORTS. In this price-range there are quite a few highly regarded mechanical keyboards. It really falls to your preference, do you want something that offers maximum customisation with illumination or something with feedback and durability as its key feature?

The bottom line is ROCCAT Isku is a very attractive looking gaming keyboard. It has funky illuminated keys and comes accompanied with ROCCAT’s brilliant software suite giving you the ability to customise just about every option you could ever want.

Pros
+ Looks great
+ Feels good to type on - soft/responsive
+ Can combine with Kone[+] - ROCCAT Talk
+ Illumination with brightness control
+ Lots of customisation available
+ ROCCAT Software suite is unrivalled

Cons
- Requires a bit of usage adjustment
- Gets dirty very easy
- Lacks USB/Audio jacks



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