Mad Catz R.A.T. M Mobile Gaming Mouse Review

Usage & Testing
Getting the R.A.T. M setup and ready to use is very simple. First go ahead and install your batteries and turn the mouse on. If you have a device that supports Bluetooth Smart then you can easily pair the mouse and you are good to go. Note that Bluetooth Smart is not backwards compatible with older Bluetooth technologies. If you device does not have Bluetooth, but does have a USB port go ahead and install the included USB dongle. Windows will automatically recognize it and install the appropriate drivers for you. So out of the box the mouse will just work.

If you want to use the more advance features of the mouse you will need to download the official driver and software. You can do that by following this link. I don’t know why Mad Catz has a separate driver and software download, it just makes things confusing. Once you have the software installed you can open it up and configure the mouse. I have gone ahead and made an overview video showing all of the features of the mouse software.

When you first use the mouse it will take a little bit of time to get used to. Once you do get used to it, it is very comfortable and very fluid. Since this is a mobile mouse I tested it on quite a few different desks and surfaces. It worked without any issues on each surface. This is a plus and you never know where you may be with your laptop. I did find it much more comfortable to use the mouse with the bottom part extended out to make it larger. This made it feel like a normal-sized mouse. It does worry me that I had to do this and I have very small hands. Someone with larger hands may not be able to use this mouse at all.

All of the buttons were very responsive and worked great. One thing I did notice was a slight lag, this is obviously expected as this is a wireless mouse. I think after a few days I did get used to it though. I played quite a few different games with the R.A.T. M from FPS to MMO games and I enjoyed the gameplay, but there were a few things that did bother me. First the “5D” button is just sort of small and in the heat of battle it is hard to actually hit the correct direction on it, and again I have small hands. Another thing that I really wish this mouse had had profiles. I would have my macro’s loaded for WoW, but then when I went to play another game I had to go into the software and set the mouse up all over again.

As far as basic tasks go this mouse is definitely better than your normal mouse. You are definitely going to appreciate the extra buttons and more comfortable style of the R.A.T. M.

About Author