With Wrath of the Lich King just around the corner, it's time to up your game and finally make it out of the low double digits with that Blood Elf mage you keep telling us about. Maybe SteelSeries can help. The high-end gaming peripherals builder recently snapped up Ideazon, and together they've built the official World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse in close cooperation with Ideazon's BFF Blizzard. There are 15 programmable buttons scattered across the mouse, and a new in-game configuration utility to graphically assign the buttons just where they're needed. You can save different profiles for different purposes, and choose one of 16 million colors for those LEDs down the back. Just don't expect any fancy auto-levelling macros or even a recommended control scheme -- Blizzard still expects you to do the hard work of lining up your favorite actions and buying your gold on eBay. The laser mouse hits on November 13th to coincide with the Lich King launch, and should retail "under $100."

If you're having trouble choosing which gaming mouse to sink your teeth into next, here's a newbie to add to the ever growing pile: the Nova Slider X 600. Not surprisingly, it's tethered to a "recommended" mouse pad -- a cornerstone product for this French based company. As for the laser mouse it features "indestructible" super-glide ceramic feet for speed and precision, along with 8 programmable buttons, a gold-plated USB connector, five luminous color options, and a cable that is notably positioned to the side. The 16.5-inch x 11.5-inch "OVER Slide" mouse pad boasts a 12,000 dpi ceramic surface, and promises "zero lag and optimal conditions" for the laser -- you know, way better than that magazine you've been using. The mouse and pad can be had for $99.99 and $39.99 respectively this November.

[Via Everything USB]

Yeah, we've seen the cart come before the horse before, and such is the case with NZXT's Avatar gaming mouse. Shortly after being previewed, the outfit has done its duty and made things official. Specs wise, we're looking at 7 customizable buttons, a 2,600DPI optical sensor, 4-speed DPI switch, ambidextrous design and a rubber grip to keep your palm secure even when the sweat really gets to pourin'. It's available now to challenge your Razer for $59.99.

You don't even need to dig into the machine translated read link to understand that the gaming mouse you see pictured above looks a lot like a Razer, but NZXT's Avatar is a beast in its own right. Best known for lavish (and stylish) PC cases, the outfit has evidently seen fit to dip its toes into the wide, wide world of gamer-centric input peripherals. Boasting a 2,600DPI sensitivity rating and a rather unadventurous design, the Avatar should fare fine in heated deathmatches or WoW raids, though it's probably overkill for the Excel maven. Nevertheless, the currently unpriced unit has been previewed quite thoroughly by the folks over at TweakPC, so give the link below a look if you could ever see yourself wanting this in your arsenal.

[Via I4U News]

Okay, so we already went way-too-vague on you when asking which mouse ruled them all, but we're hoping to narrow things up for you gamers out there with this one:

"I spend a fair amount of time on my PC playing a variety of games. First-person shooters, RPGs, a little of everything. I've heard lots of people recommend a certain mouse as a great overall device, but I'm looking for one that caters to gamers. Which mousing device on the market today gives gamers an edge and comes with features that we actually care about?"

If you're reading this now, chances are you've managed to log off long enough to help this guy out. Then again, if you're vying for top spot in those online death-matches, maybe you don't really want to give away your secret after all. Care to have your question plastered on the site? We'd typically recommend faxing your questions over, but IT just hooked us up with this fancy ask at engadget dawt com email address that you can try instead.

With CeBIT opening its doors in Germany in just a matter of days, it seems that Razer is already getting us antsy by rolling out a new teaser for an upcoming mouse. Granted, it's not like the firm hasn't pulled something similar before, but considering that it specifically notes March 4th as the date to check back for more details, it's not exactly being secretive about where the launch will take place. T-minus six days until the Speed of (The) Light is revealed -- we're tense with anticipation.

[Thanks, Defiler]

Sandio's Game O' 3D mouse managed to catch our eye back in May of '06, and now the firm is just getting around to unveiling the successor. Still touting that oh-so-catchy 3D moniker, the 3D Game O2 allows Google Earth / Virtual Earth users to "fly through without dealing with keyboard or on-screen navigation tabs." 'Course, it didn't miss the opportunity to inform Second Life residents that they too can enjoy more realistic flying motions with this here device, and users of CAD software could also find a few obvious benefits. Regarding improvements from the previous version, this one reportedly rocks "improved hardware quality and software usability as well as auto-loading of key 3D application drivers and plug-ins." Best of all, there's no waiting involved in acquiring one -- so long as you're parked in the US, Canada, China or Japan, you can grab one at your convenience for $79.99.

It's been over a year since Ideazon threw its Reaper into the totally saturated gaming mouse market, but now that the Reaper Edge has arrived to challenge the revived SideWinder, Razer Lachesis and Saitek Cyborg (to name just a few), it seems suitable to see how it stacks up. The folks over at ExtremeTech were able to wrap their hands around said device, and the long and short of it is that it's a real competitor. Gamers looking for a new mouse should probably put Ideazon on their short list, as what it lacks in brand appeal it more than makes up for in the design and performance departments. Reviewers praised the "real rubber thumb grip," intelligently placed side buttons and relatively low price tag ($69.99 MSRP), but did note that the bundled software wasn't as robust as they would've liked. Still, the Reaper Edge seemed to have quite a bit going for it, but feel free to dive into the full review below if you're still skeptical.

As if cramming its third-generation optical sensor in the Diamondback wasn't good enough, Razer is out to up the ante once more its newly-unveiled Lachesis. Compared to Microsoft's shiny new SideWinder, this creature touts double the DPI (that's 4,000 here, for those keeping score), and according to Razer, the 3G laser sensor "stops tracking at much lower lift-off levels than any other laser sensor, preventing tracking errors when the device is lifted off its tracking surface." Of course, you'll still be able to switch DPI on-the-fly sans special drivers, and the Ultraslick, Teflon-coated feet ought to glide around effortlessly for a good while. Razer's latest USB gaming mouse will go on sale globally this October for $79.99, and will be available in Phantom White and Banshee Blue colors.

[Via MaxitMag]

Not too long after Razer resurrected the classic Boomslang, Microsoft is reviving the SideWinder line with the introduction of a decked out gaming mouse. For starters, the 2,000 DPI wired critter sports a Quick Turn feature that lets users "check their perimeter at any angle," a weight cartridge system, a variety of feet to match glide preferences, instantaneous DPI adjustment, and a cable management system to boot. Moreover, Microsoft claims that this is the first gaming mouse to arrive with an LCD built right in, which allows users to "easily keep track of key gaming actions, including their DPI and steps for recording macros." Of course, we'd recommend actually wielding one of these things before plunking down your $79.95 come October, but the specification sheet is mighty impressive, indeed. Check out the hands-on action in the gallery below.

We lucky lads here in North America have been enjoying a few of Logitech's finer offerings of late, but a mysterious foreign site has seemingly leaked a few snapshots of a new Logitech gaming mouse. Of course, we wouldn't put it past China to crank out a perfectly pathetic knockoff, but the "G9 Laser" stamp does hint that this may be a (very) early production model of the G7 (or G5's) eventual successor. Interestingly enough, this model appears to have shifted back to the tailed approach, sports removable / changeable faceplates, dons a number of macro buttons and flashly LED lights, and includes a top-mounted battery compartment to boot. Only time will tell, but judging solely by how incredibly unsightly this thing is, we're leaning towards the faux camp for now. Click through for the remainder of the evidence.

[Via EverythingUSB]

It might be difficult to hold back your astonishment, but it looks like yet another input peripheral maker is offering up a "gaming mouse" to hopefully hook buyers who'll try (and buy) anything to gain an edge. Incredibly, SandioTech's iteration somehow manages to differentiate itself from the hordes of alternatives already out, but this somewhat positive attribute was also its biggest pitfall according to DragonSteelMods. Reviewers tested the 2,000dpi laser mouse out in a variety of circumstances, and immediately noted how unique the "six degrees of freedom movement" system was, but also felt that it catered more towards RTS gamers and macro-lovers than your average FPS guru. Swamped with programmable joysticks and buttons, the relatively large mouse was deemed versatile and full of potential, but the high learning curve and somewhat specialized layout could be a turnoff for the casual fan. Still, the mouse garnered a four out of five rating overall, but unless you spend the majority of your life tackling pixelated monsters in an MMO, we'd suggest looking elsewhere.