Roccat Kova[+] review: Roccat Kova[+]

Here we are at the Roccat Kova[+]. We already reviewed the original ambidextrous Kova, a gaming mouse that made the bold statement of not coming with software, and yet still managed to win our hearts.

9.0

Roccat Kova[+]

The Good

Custom lighting system. Excellent software. EasyShift button gives more flexibility. Ambidextrous.

The Bad

No indicator on mouse to confirm your current settings.

The Bottom Line

The Kova was fantastic, and the Kova[+] now adds Roccat's great software into the mix. We’d recommend this one for all.

The original had user-customisable lighting that was manipulated through clever button presses, a thick tyre of a scroll wheel, as well as switching the mouse to left-handed mode and adjusting DPI. It was all rather neat, only leaving us wanting for some sort of indicator of what the current settings were.

So how does the Kova[+] differ from the Kova? Well, it brings the software back, and removes all the button fiddling, making it more like an ordinary gaming mouse.

That's not to say that the software isn't nice — it lives up to Roccat's usual quality, with DPI and sensitivity settings, vertical and horizontal scroll speeds, custom button assignments, macros, polling rate adjustment, lighting system and profile management. It also inherits Roccat's amusing, but useful, sound alert system. Change your DPI, sensitivity or profile, and a voice that sounds like it's seen far too much CSI will proudly proclaim the changes through your speakers. Despite the guffaw it provokes from us each time, the idea is sound. No annoying HUD that may crash your game, no need to look at your mouse to check that you’ve got the right setting — the auditory cue succeeds perfectly.

There's also some under-the-hood tweaks to the 3200dpi sensor, increasing its maximum speed from 40 inches per second to 130, and its acceleration from 20G to 30G. In truth, the performance felt exactly the same as the original Kova once we'd tweaked it to our liking, so we're guessing it's the software and not the hardware that enables this extra leg room.

You get your usual left-, right- and middle-click buttons with the Kova[+], along with two buttons on the left and right side, making it truly ambidextrous. The EasyShift button makes a comeback: hold the bottom left button down and suddenly every other button you press has another function associated with it, giving you huge flexibility.

Just like the original Kova, performance is excellent, with a frantic session of Serious Sam: HD proving its mettle.

The Kova was fantastic, and the Kova[+] now adds Roccat's great software into the mix. We'd recommend this one for all.