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TL8A Terminator Laser Gaming Mouse

TL8A Terminator Laser Gaming Mouse

Written by Jeremy Duff on 7/27/2015 for PC  
More On: TL8A Terminator Laser Gaming Mouse

There are tons of options out there for gaming mice, ranging from the uber expensive to the affordable diamonds in the rough. I’ve been loyal to the Steel Series Xai for a couple of years now, but I have been getting the feeling that it was time to upgrade. Before I even got a chance to begin shopping around, I had one fall into my lap: the bloody TL8A Terminator Laser Gaming Mouse. It turns out that I am not going to have to do any shopping because I am more than thrilled with this little piece of hardware.

It is clear from the outset that the TL8A is an incredibly solid mouse by design. Sporting a combination of hardened plastic and smooth rubber on the body as well as textured rubber on the primary buttons, the ergonomic design is incredibly comfortable. It also proves to be incredibly functional as well in terms of limiting sweat on your hand(s) during extended gameplay sessions. Both sides of the mouse are grooved, which allows air to flow underneath where you grip the mouse on each side. This keeps your hands cool and from getting too wet, which is an issue I have deal with personally in the past.

There are nine buttons in total, all programmable which are laid out in an incredibly natural positions. You won’t have to contort your hand into any weird configurations in order to trigger any of them. The bottom of the mouse has four metal plates that act as feet, making movement silky smooth on practically any surface. These aren’t just small little nubs either, as the surface space of all of them fill up quite a bit of real estate compared to most mice.

The cord is made of a thick, braided material, which means it is stronger than your typical USB cord and won’t kink up nearly as easily. It is also nearly 6 feet in length, giving you plenty of space and room for mobility. Once you add in the various backlights behind the buttons and scroll wheel, you have one slick looking piece of hardware that, as my daughter and dedicated Marvel Comics fan noted, “looks like it was made by Tony Stark”.

While the TL8A will work right out of the box in basic form, getting the most out of it requires installation of bloody’s companion software. With the software suite installed, you can truly customize and fine tun pretty much every single aspect of the mouse. While you can set up macro settings for pretty much any game that you may be playing, there are specific tools included that are meant to benefit FPS players. You can alter everything from the cursor speed (8200 CPI by default, 5 available settings) to specific button modes and delays for those who prefer sniper weapons and real-time gun adjustments.

Switching between your set modes is as simple as a toggle switch that lies just before the scroll wheel. It is hidden just under the arch of your fingers, which keeps you from accidentally triggering it during play. The backlights of the mouse also change color depending on the mode that you have triggered, so it is always easy to know what you do or don’t have triggered (mode-wise).

The only real issue that I have had with the TL8A would be its click-response time. I would actually say that it is too quick, at least at first. The specs listed on the box boast a 1ms response time for clicks on the two primary buttons, and that isn’t far off from the truth. When I first began using the mouse, I had to really learn to lay off of the presser that I used when clicking, specifically in the basic Windows environment. The mouse was constantly registering multiple clicks when they weren’t intended. While I debated lowering their sensitivity in the software, I ended up simply adjusting things physically on my end, and as a result feel that the mouse is much more responsive than any I have used before. It will take some getting used to but it is worth it in the end.

Overall, I am very happy with the bloody TL8A and have officially moved it into the position as my primary mouse. It looks a bit complicated visually, thanks to the sharp edges and metallic-looking design, but feels incredibly comfortable when used. The backlights inside perfectly accentuate the sleek design and look, making it look like a machine of sorts. It looks cool and it performs extremely well, what else could you ask for?

The TL8A proved to be an incredibly solid gaming mouse at a great price. This is definitely a great tool for the PC gamer, especially FPS fans.

Rating: 8.5 Very Good

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.

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About Author

Guess who's back!!! If you have been here before, you know the basics: lifelong gamer, father, and of course, former certified news monkey. I still consider myself all of those things, just maybe not in the grand scale that I once did. I’ve been blogging on the industry for more than decade now, in some form or another. It wasn't until I landed here at Gaming Nexus that I really dove in head first. Now, writing about games has become what I do for fun (and sometimes work) and something I intend on doing until the day I die (in some form or another).

I'm a huge fan of just about everything you can interact with using a controller, no matter how old or new, good or bad. If you put it in front of me, I will play it (at least once).

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