If ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Well, Razer decided the saying was wrong – and it also thought about giving an answer to those who claimed the company just releases the same mouse all over again with some minor modifications. The new Imperator breaks the mold of the previous line of snake-inspired peripherals. Let's take a step by step look at what's changed and if the new stuff makes for a better product.


For starters, the mouse still keeps that Razer look of a predatory beast, but you can see a major change right away: the thumb buttons slide back and forth in three different positions, so there's no way to complain about them being to far away or behind the reach of your thumb. There's a slider underneath the Imperator to adjust the thumb buttons.



Among other things, Razer finally presents a cloth-wrapped cable and also decided to take away the weighting system. That can alienate the users who like being able to adjust the weight of their mice. The Imperator’s right-handed ergonomic form speaks to both the “palm grip” players and also the “claw grip” bunch.There's a very deep thumb rest made of glossy plastic and a very subtle one for the pinkie. The rest of the body is rubber-coated and it features the illuminated Razer logo. The scroll-wheel is also illuminated but it doesn't do horizontal scrolling.