SteelSeries WoW March of the Scourge & AION Asmodian Limited Edition Mouse Pads

[Stefan]

At first I want to thank SteelSeries for providing me their World Of Warcraft March of the Scourge Limited Edition and AION Asmodian Mouse Pads for reviewing.

SteelSeries sell besides gaming peripherals mouse pads which are made from good quality materials, don't fall off the table when gaming intensively and have incredibly detailed game art on them. In this review I will look upon the World Of Warcraft and AION mouse pads; besides these, for these two games we can also find mice and Z-boards.

About SteelSeries :

“From day one, SteelSeries has been focused on making professional gaming gear that provide meaningful benefits to gamers of all skill-level, with the most demanding being those gamers whose lively hood depends on the performance of our products. We believe, as most gamers do, in winning, not trying!

What originally began as a small two-person operation in Copenhagen back in 2001 has become a global leader in professional gaming products. SteelSeries recognized the need for superior, high-quality professional gaming gear that would give players a competitive edge.

Fast-forward to today, and we've come a long way since our first glass mousepad. We have global offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, providing an integrated portfolio of products designed specifically for gaming. Fueling our growth is you, the gamer!

While we are proud of our technology and product innovation, we are even more excited about how these products are developed to meet the needs of gamers. Many companies may claim to develop superior gaming products but few actually do. Instead, they spend countless hours with lab engineers trying to force fit a new technology with bells and whistles and mediocre functionality for the end-user.
At SteelSeries, we develop our products with a small internal team and a vast network of technology partners, channel partners, game publishers, and gaming communities around the globe. We aren't afraid of being challenged and implementing new ideas. Our main goal is to always to listen to the collective feedback of our professional gaming community.

We won't bore you with cheeky slogans, trying to underline our authenticity as gamers. We fully acknowledge that the best professional gamers in the world know more about what they want and what will make them better, than we do. We are proud to be working with our partners, but we can't take credit for their invaluable input and feedback. Instead we tell it like it is: they help us. We want to know what works and what doesn't. For this reason, SteelSeries creates innovative solutions that provide a competitive advantage for all gamers.

Critical to our company's success is also our reinvestment in the gaming communities and the individuals who support them. As a result, our corporate philosophy is to take a substantial portion of our revenue and put it back into the gaming community to help spur industry growth. We support our community in numerous ways, ranging from co-hosting tournaments like Iron Lady and King of the Hill, and supporting gaming competitions of all sizes, to promoting the top and up-and-coming gaming teams/organizations.

Put simply, SteelSeries does not claim to invent or reinvent the gaming industry. Nor do we focus on one specific product, copy other companies or follow the crowd.

Instead we leave it to you, the gamer, our customer/partner/inspiration, to decide if we are deserving of such declarations and accolades. What we do promise, however, is to remain committed to you. We will continue to work with you and the gaming community to make the best products possible and give you that competitive edge. We will continue to do our best to support the growth of the professional gaming industry and give back to the gaming communities. By doing so, we don't just talk a good game, we win!”

Page 2: Product highlights, Specifications

World of Warcraft March Of The Scourge Exclusive

Product Description:

The SteelSeries QcK mousepad is made of a high quality cloth material, providing a precise and consistent glide. The combination of the high quality cloth material and an optimized textured surface, guarantees both smoothness and glide. The SteelSeries QcK feature a specially designed non-slip rubber base which prevents the pads from sliding, no matter what surface the mousepad is placed on. The SteelSeries QcK has been used by professional gamers all the world and has won more tournaments and competitions than any other mousepad on the planet. It is a great choice not only for the hardcore gamers, but also for graphic designers and others users requiring precision and accuracy. The mousepad is optimized for optical and laser technology.

Product Features:

- Smooth cloth surface
- Steady rubber base
- Medium sized
- Great value for money

Product Specifications:

Package Contents

- Mouse pad

Technical Specifications

- Dimensions: 285 x 320 x 2 mm / 11,2 x 12,6 x 0,1 in

System Requirements

- Gaming grade ball, laser and optical mice.

AION Asmodian

Product Description:

The SteelSeries QcK Limited Edition (Aion Asmodian) features a graphic from Aion™, the highly anticipated game from NCsoft®. Aion is a visually stunning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) where the character wields devastating powers and sweeping wings to explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure.

SteelSeries QcK is made of a high quality cloth material, providing a precise and consistent glide. The combination of the high quality cloth material and an optimized textured surface, guarantees both smoothness and glide. The SteelSeries QcK features a specially designed non-slip rubber base which prevents the pad from sliding, no matter what surface the mouse pad is placed on.

The SteelSeries QcK has been used by professional gamers all around the world and has been used to win more tournaments and competitions than any other mousepad on the planet. It is a great choice not only for the hardcore gamers, but also for graphic designers and other users requiring precision and accuracy. The mouse pad is optimized for optical and laser technology.

Product Features:

- M-sized smooth cloth mouse pad
- Steady rubber base
- Stunning official Aion™ graphics

Product Specifications:

Material: Cloth with rubber base
Surface treatment: Heat
Dimensions: 320 x 270 x 2 mm / 12,6 x 10,6 x 0,08 in
Size: Medium
Glide: Smooth
Compatibility: All mice technologies


Page 3: WoW March Of The Scourge Exclusive Pad Packaging

Both products I am going to look upon in this review are QcK Limited Edition mouse pads and share the same characteristics and packaging:

World Of Warcraft March Of The Scourge Exclusive Pad

The World of Warcraft pad comes in a specially designed plastic/cardboard box, to avoid damages during transport or getting the pad dirty; on the frontal part we can see a big portion of the pads' artwork, the fact that it is a Limited Edition QcK pad; on its bottom we can find a bigger SteelSeries logo, some product features and specifications, but also the World Of Warcraft logo:

On the back of the package, we can see a full product description in multiple languages, some words about SteelSeries; also here we can see that this product is fully licensed by Blizzard Entertainment and the original pad artwork was made by Mr. Wei Wang:

The side on which we can open the package is fully sealed:

If we get the cardboard part out, the pad is still fully protected in a transparent plastic enclosure:

Besides the main product, we also get in the package a SteelSeries sticker and a small product catalogue:

In the product catalog, we can see some items that SteelSeries commercializes, from mouse pads to keyboards and headphones:

The artwork detail on the mouse pad is outstanding and describes a scene from the World Of Warcraft expansion named Wrath of the Lich King. "March of the Scourge" is the fifth chapter in the Human Campaign of the World of Warcraft III : Reign of Chaos game:

On the bottom part of the pad, we get to see a big World Of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King logo:

A little to the right, there is Wei's signature and we get to see again that this product fully licensed by Blizzard Entertainment:

To the left of the WoW logo, we can find the SteelSeries logo:

On the back of the pad, we can see a rubber base, very efficient in keeping the pad steady on the table:

Here is a closer look on the rubber material:

Page 4: AION Asmodian Pad Packaging

AION Asmodian Pad

Like the previous mouse pad, it comes in a special designed protective package, from both plastic and cardboard; on the frontal part we get to see that this is a gaming recommended pad, it is from the QcK series and on the bottom we get to see some features, specifications along with the SteelSeries and AION logo:

On the back of the package, we can see a full product description in multiple languages, some words about SteelSeries and the NCSOFT logo, which developed the AION MMORPG:

The side on which we can open the package is fully sealed:

If we get the cardboard part out, the pad is still fully protected in a transparent plastic enclosure:

Besides the main product, we also get in the package a SteelSeries sticker and a small product catalogue:

In the product catalog, we can see some items that SteelSeries commercializes, from mouse pads to keyboards and headphones:

The mouse pad has incredibly detailed graphics printed on the top part from the AION MMORPG. The Asmodians are one of the two factions of Daeva, that have resulted from the Millennium War. They have been locked into an eternal blood feud against the Elyos faction, that hold them responsible for the destruction of the Tower of Eternity:

On the bottom right part of the pad, we get to see the AION game logo, but also the NCSOFT logo:

On the bottom left part, a black SteelSeries logo can be found:

On the top part of the mouse pad we can find a highly detailed AION logo:

On the back of the pad, we can see a rubber base, very efficient in keeping the pad steady on the table:

Here is a closer look on the rubber material:

Page 5: Conclusions

I have reviewed QcK mouse pads some months before and I can say that they have very high quality materials, the mouse moves very smooth on their surfaces and makes little to no sound when moving it on the pad.

I have tested various gaming mice on these pads like the ROCCAT Kova, SteelSeries XAI or the Razer Deathadder. All of them worked great on the surface, I did not experience unusual errors because of the change in colors on the surface.

These mouse pads are great for collectors, gamers but also for people that want to make their desktop table more enjoyable.

I would like to thank again to SteelSeries for offering me these nice samples for review!