With a reputation for gaming mice like the Diamondback and Copperhead, Razer further distances themselves as "that gaming mouse company" with the release of their third gaming keyboard, the Lycosa, a successor to the popular Tarantula. Like its predecessor, the Lycosa sports a very sexy and stylish monotone design—accentuated with a glossy, reflective finish, and this time with a complete set of blue backlit keys. From overhead, it resembles the Bat-Signal.

The Lycosa doesn't give off the immediate sense of "gaming keyboard" on first inspection. Sure, it looks cool, but where's the extra set of WASD gaming keys like the MERC Stealth or Wolf Claw? Or, unlike the Tarantula, where are the macro keys? The secret sauce that adds the gaming spice to the Lycosa is found within the included software, which provides options to remap or record macros for every key. So, for instance, gamers can slip in some macros onto the F-key row, or make use of the numbered pad for a dozen or so macros. Wherever.

No extra macro keys also means that the Lycosa won't gobble up as much real estate as macro keyboards like the Logitech G15 or Tarantula. It measures roughly 18-inches long, 6.5-inches wide (without the palm rest), and less than an inch tall (without the feet propped up). The multimedia control TouchPanel in the top right corner springs to life once the Lycosa's backlighting is turned on. At the center of these controls is the Razer logo that, while pressed, acts as a function key to toggle on and off the Windows key when pressed simultaneously.

Keytops are coated with a rubber, satin-like finish for a non-slip grip—a distinct feeling over a normal keyboard's plastic keys. The short vertical height of each key makes for shorter keypresses, very much like a laptop's keys. Razer decided to make the Lycosa a little more FPS-friendly with a backlighting mode that only illuminates the four WASD keys. If backlighting is a yawn for some folks, it can be easily switched off.

The Lycosa will take up a pair of USB ports, but reward you with one USB 2.0 port in return. Next to the USB port is a microphone and headphone jack.

The keyboard ships with plenty of goodies in the box: a quick start guide, an instructional manual, installation CD, stickers, and some promotional material. You'll need a PC with Windows XP or higher.