We've all been there.....hours have slipped by as we shunned all responsibility to make it just a little bit further in our favorite game of the moment. You can imagine just how much of a chore it is when a company like GamersStuff sends us a mouse pad, and wants a review accomplished. So by mustering all my strength and energy, I installed Max Payne 2 and the latest Desert Combat mod then sat down to log in some game time.

     The fuZe is a hardened mouse pad that has a striking resemblance to the Giganta which is still being sold on the GamersStuff webpage. The fuZe is also coated with the FineCell surface, which can be though of as a non-stick surface that has a coarse texture. The mousing surface of the pad has been beveled up from the base and an oval cutout along the bottom edge of the pad very nicely accommodates a polyurethane gel filled wrist rest. Measuring 9½" High and 11½" Wide, there is plenty of room for even a large mouse, such as the Logitech MX700 pictured above. While black certainly does make for a good color, the fuZe is also available in Charcoal. The pad has been claimed to be Optical Mouse compatible and after testing with both the Logitech MX700 and a Microsoft Intellimouse Optical, I can find no evidence to suggest otherwise. The Microsoft mouse was treated with a teflon tape known as Mouse Eels which had the obvious result, nearly zero effort was required to manipulate the mouse on the pad. The Logitech MX700 is heavier than a typical mouse because of the batteries, and though the feet are untreated, there is no feeling of sluggish or hindered movement by the coarse surface texture.

     A very welcomed enhancement to the fuZe is actually done to the bottom. The Giganta only used five small rubberized feet to grip the table-top. While this may seem adequate, the more of a waxed type finish the table has that you are trying to use the pad upon, the harder it is for the pad to grip it. Nothing is more frustrating than a mousepad that won't stay in one place. The fuZe has been enhanced by covering the entire bottom with a rubber coating that is VERY coarse. This dramatically  increased the stick and hold nature of the mousepad since the entire surface area is now making contact with the tabletop. While you can always use the soap and water method to clean the dust that always seem to accumulate on everything, I found that a tape-type peel and roll lint remover worked very well.

     The fuZe can be yours for $14.95 plus shipping & handling. It may not look like much of an improvement over the Giganta, but its very difficult to improve an already excellent product. By replacing the five relatively small rubber feet on the bottom with the mat of rubber used on the Fuze, an improvement most certainly has been made. It's large and darn near indestructible which makes it great for LAN party visits. Mouse tracking was simply superb, not only in game play but in actual work too (such as the image manipulation processed to create this review.)