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G13 Advanced Gameboard (Hardware Review)
By Steven Perdikis (holo`) - Tue May 12, 2009 5:37pm
Keyboards are good for gaming, because they have a lot of keys. Some games, however, don't need all that many keys to play, and some keyboards don't have the ability to assign a macro or alternate keystroke to a large number of keys. Some keyboards can also be uncomfortable. The solution to this, according to several peripheral manufacturers, is the wondrous thing known as a “game board”, which allows users to take advantage of an ergonomically designed, completely separate, and macro-happy mini keyboard.
One such device is the Logitech G13, which has 22 fully programmable buttons, support for a near-unlimited number of profiles, and to top it all off, a small LCD screen similar to that that found on the G15, which can display in-game statistics, the time, memory usage or a number of other handy pieces of text.
In addition, the G13 allows for complete customisation of not only each and every individual key on the game board (which can be assigned a macro, a normal key stroke, or a number of other general PC features) , but also allows users to choose what colour they'd like their backlit keys to be. There are 16 options by default (including off) along with the ability to use a colour picker to choose a “custom” colour for the backlight. Realistically, the custom colour picker doesn't work all that well, but the 16 pre-defined colours are bound to have something for everyone, with green, red, blue, and even purple and pink all present.
Finally, the G13 ships with a number of pre-configured macro sets for a large number of games. There's ones for games like World of Warcraft, Neverwinter Nights 2, Call of Duty 4, World in Conflict, and many others. While many of these macro sets don't come pre-configured to instantly “work” with the G13 it is helpful when you're presented with a list of in game actions as pre-defined macros which can then be assigned to whatever keys you see fit.
The G13 has four rows of keys, with seven on the top row, seven on the second row, and five on the third row. Three more keys are featured on the bottom most row, which means that the board covers the ground a normal keyboard would typically have between Tab and Y, Caps Lock and H, Left Shift and V, and Ctrl, Alt and the Space bar.
While that works in theory, the central keys on the keyboard (which are designed to be WASD replacements) are recessed, which allows you to easily get your bearings. This is where the potential issues begin, two of which are most distressing – the first of these is the lack of a number row directly above the WASD cluster. The second is the lack of access to the function keys, with a row pertaining to F1, F2, F3, and F4 (commonly used by many role playing and strategy games) completely absent, making it problematic when it comes to easily configuring camera angles, unit groupings or accessing character special abilities or inventory slots. While most of this depends on the game in question, the fact that many strategy and role playing games use these keys very commonly is a massive oversight on Logitech's behalf, making the game board somewhat unappealing to strategy gamers, as I discovered.
Take World in Conflict, for instance, which was the first game I used in testing. WASD are used to move the camera. This takes up four keys, which is fine, and would be expected of any game for movement or use camera controls. Q brings up the all-important request menu. E activates special offensive unit abilities, R activates defensive abilities. T stops your unit. Shift+Y loads units into transports. U unloads units from transports. F is attack ground. G is hold fire. Z changes formation. C is used for voice communication. Shift+N is move backwards. Insert is reinforce unit.
You can quickly see that the default keys for World in Conflict that are commonly used by many players just don't work on the G13, especially when you take into consideration hot key / fire groups for units, which is simply not possible on the G13 due to the lack of at least five keys above the WASD cluster, which is otherwise present on every other “normal” keyboard.
While this could potentially be remedied by setting the second macro row to other less common tasks, the G13 is only left with two spare (and relatively awkward to reach keys) that could be used for recalling unit selections, which is just frustrating. This frustration not only occurs in World in Conflict, but is present in other games such as Dawn of War II, which uses the F1 key as a way to select your stronghold in order to build units, and the other Function keys to activate global abilities. This makes the G13 an absolute non option for strategy gamers, who would find the G13 to get in the way of their tactics and planning, rather than enhancing it in any meaningful fashion.
While that may sound harsh, anyone who has played a strategy game competitively, and hates losing will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you were considering the G13 for strategy games, stay away – you'll be more frustrated than you will be happy.
For those that enjoy first person shooters as their PC gaming bread and butter, they'll feel right at home on the G13 due to the simple fact that first person shooters generally don't require as many hot keys. Generally, all you need is movement, change weapons, throw grenade, use, special attack, melee, and reload.
This made playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare using the G13 was a pleasure, but I was somewhat soured by my experience with RTS that hindered my enjoyment and ease-of-play using the G13. It is the type of device that tends to demand a large time commitment in order to perfect a profile and remember every single key, as the keys just don't feel like a real keyboard. While this could be an issue of personal adaptation, It is difficult to describe this without actually placing your hands on the G13.
It is comfortable and ergonomic, don't get me wrong there, but it is frustrating. This frustration is manifested mainly in the fact that the board is curved, and not flat. It doesn't curve upward, but rather curves downward, following hand rest, which is quite hard to become accustomed to as generally, every other conventional keyboard on the market is flat, or is most comfortable to use with a slight upward slope.
Testing for role playing games took place using Dungeon Siege 2, which sadly, makes use of the number keys (like almost every RPG released in the last decade) for character special abilities. Again, the shortcomings of the G13 are made evident by the lack of a dedicated row of keys that could be used as alternatives to the number keys on a regular keyboard. While the G13 could be used in conjunction with a “normal” keyboard for this purpose, as a total replacement for “gaming”, it does not produce a more enjoyable experience than using a keyboard, but instead one which is more frustrating.
The features of the G13 are plentiful, and the game board is fine for use with first person shooters. For other games however such as real-time strategy games and role playing games, which both require extensive use of hot keys, there is simply not enough keys on the G13 to have all of the shortcuts stored within the three macro modes available within a single profile.
While 66 potential keys (given three macro modes per profile) is a great deal, the added pressure of needing to remember what keys are bound to what for each individual profile is a daunting task, that not only takes ages to set up, but also takes ages to memorise, making the G13 somewhat of a hindrance in the short term. This is especially true if you've learnt every hot key for a game and have gotten used to reaching for the N, J, or other keys that are further away from the WASD cluster used by most gamers.
It is perfectly suited to those who want to play first person shooters and don't mind taking some considerable time configuring their controls both inside of game and out, but is not the sort of product that I'd recommend if you're looking to improve your performance in game.
It is fine and would probably assist those who want to play first person shooters, but for those who play games across multiple genres and would like to use the G13 for everything in the gaming environment, the time you would spend setting up profiles for unsupported games could end up being astronomical, and, with the money you save from not buying the G13 (RRP is AU$159.95), you could probably buy one or two games, upgrade your RAM, or … even get a G15 instead, which represents far better value than the G13.
One such device is the Logitech G13, which has 22 fully programmable buttons, support for a near-unlimited number of profiles, and to top it all off, a small LCD screen similar to that that found on the G15, which can display in-game statistics, the time, memory usage or a number of other handy pieces of text.
In addition, the G13 allows for complete customisation of not only each and every individual key on the game board (which can be assigned a macro, a normal key stroke, or a number of other general PC features) , but also allows users to choose what colour they'd like their backlit keys to be. There are 16 options by default (including off) along with the ability to use a colour picker to choose a “custom” colour for the backlight. Realistically, the custom colour picker doesn't work all that well, but the 16 pre-defined colours are bound to have something for everyone, with green, red, blue, and even purple and pink all present.
) |
Finally, the G13 ships with a number of pre-configured macro sets for a large number of games. There's ones for games like World of Warcraft, Neverwinter Nights 2, Call of Duty 4, World in Conflict, and many others. While many of these macro sets don't come pre-configured to instantly “work” with the G13 it is helpful when you're presented with a list of in game actions as pre-defined macros which can then be assigned to whatever keys you see fit.
The G13 has four rows of keys, with seven on the top row, seven on the second row, and five on the third row. Three more keys are featured on the bottom most row, which means that the board covers the ground a normal keyboard would typically have between Tab and Y, Caps Lock and H, Left Shift and V, and Ctrl, Alt and the Space bar.
While that works in theory, the central keys on the keyboard (which are designed to be WASD replacements) are recessed, which allows you to easily get your bearings. This is where the potential issues begin, two of which are most distressing – the first of these is the lack of a number row directly above the WASD cluster. The second is the lack of access to the function keys, with a row pertaining to F1, F2, F3, and F4 (commonly used by many role playing and strategy games) completely absent, making it problematic when it comes to easily configuring camera angles, unit groupings or accessing character special abilities or inventory slots. While most of this depends on the game in question, the fact that many strategy and role playing games use these keys very commonly is a massive oversight on Logitech's behalf, making the game board somewhat unappealing to strategy gamers, as I discovered.
) World in Conflict |
You can quickly see that the default keys for World in Conflict that are commonly used by many players just don't work on the G13, especially when you take into consideration hot key / fire groups for units, which is simply not possible on the G13 due to the lack of at least five keys above the WASD cluster, which is otherwise present on every other “normal” keyboard.
While this could potentially be remedied by setting the second macro row to other less common tasks, the G13 is only left with two spare (and relatively awkward to reach keys) that could be used for recalling unit selections, which is just frustrating. This frustration not only occurs in World in Conflict, but is present in other games such as Dawn of War II, which uses the F1 key as a way to select your stronghold in order to build units, and the other Function keys to activate global abilities. This makes the G13 an absolute non option for strategy gamers, who would find the G13 to get in the way of their tactics and planning, rather than enhancing it in any meaningful fashion.
While that may sound harsh, anyone who has played a strategy game competitively, and hates losing will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you were considering the G13 for strategy games, stay away – you'll be more frustrated than you will be happy.
) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare |
This made playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare using the G13 was a pleasure, but I was somewhat soured by my experience with RTS that hindered my enjoyment and ease-of-play using the G13. It is the type of device that tends to demand a large time commitment in order to perfect a profile and remember every single key, as the keys just don't feel like a real keyboard. While this could be an issue of personal adaptation, It is difficult to describe this without actually placing your hands on the G13.
It is comfortable and ergonomic, don't get me wrong there, but it is frustrating. This frustration is manifested mainly in the fact that the board is curved, and not flat. It doesn't curve upward, but rather curves downward, following hand rest, which is quite hard to become accustomed to as generally, every other conventional keyboard on the market is flat, or is most comfortable to use with a slight upward slope.
Testing for role playing games took place using Dungeon Siege 2, which sadly, makes use of the number keys (like almost every RPG released in the last decade) for character special abilities. Again, the shortcomings of the G13 are made evident by the lack of a dedicated row of keys that could be used as alternatives to the number keys on a regular keyboard. While the G13 could be used in conjunction with a “normal” keyboard for this purpose, as a total replacement for “gaming”, it does not produce a more enjoyable experience than using a keyboard, but instead one which is more frustrating.
The features of the G13 are plentiful, and the game board is fine for use with first person shooters. For other games however such as real-time strategy games and role playing games, which both require extensive use of hot keys, there is simply not enough keys on the G13 to have all of the shortcuts stored within the three macro modes available within a single profile.
) |
While 66 potential keys (given three macro modes per profile) is a great deal, the added pressure of needing to remember what keys are bound to what for each individual profile is a daunting task, that not only takes ages to set up, but also takes ages to memorise, making the G13 somewhat of a hindrance in the short term. This is especially true if you've learnt every hot key for a game and have gotten used to reaching for the N, J, or other keys that are further away from the WASD cluster used by most gamers.
It is perfectly suited to those who want to play first person shooters and don't mind taking some considerable time configuring their controls both inside of game and out, but is not the sort of product that I'd recommend if you're looking to improve your performance in game.
It is fine and would probably assist those who want to play first person shooters, but for those who play games across multiple genres and would like to use the G13 for everything in the gaming environment, the time you would spend setting up profiles for unsupported games could end up being astronomical, and, with the money you save from not buying the G13 (RRP is AU$159.95), you could probably buy one or two games, upgrade your RAM, or … even get a G15 instead, which represents far better value than the G13.
7/10
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