Func resurrected with new peripheral line-up

Unless you’ve been pc gaming for the best part of 20 years, you may not know the Func brand – it produced some of the most popular mousemats during the early days of Quake, but is now making a comeback with a complete line of gaming peripherals. We went hands-on with the new range at the Func booth here at Computex Taipei.

First up, the MX-3 gaming mouse – this actually launched earlier in the year, but it’s the first time we’ve seen one up close. It’s a 10-button rodent with an oversized ergonomic design, which gives you somewhere to rest your ring and pinkie fingers when gaming. It has a soft-touch plastic finish which is incredibly resistant to fingerprints and creates plenty of grip.

An Instant Aim button on the side of the mouse temporarily reduces sensitivity to give you more control when taking that all-important sniper shot, as the 5,670dpi sensor can be pushed up to incredibly twitchy levels. You can pick one up today from Amazon for around £60, and we’ll be giving it a full review once we get back from Computex.

The Func KB-460 keyboard will follow next – it uses a complete set of Cherry MX red mechanical switches, which are favoured by gamers for their precise key actions and almost instant response, along with full N-key roll over, which lets as many keys register at once as you can press. There’s also individual red LED lighting behind each key, and a 2-port USB hub built into the back of the keyboard. It’s finished in the same soft-touch plastic as the MX-3 mouse.

We were impressed with the rugged nature of the board, which felt sturdy enough to hold up to plenty of frantic gaming sessions, but the price will be the true talking point – at £79.99 including VAT when it launches in August, it looks to be the cheapest way to upgrade your gaming setup with a mechanical keyboard.

Finally, we got a sneak preview of the HS-260 headset, which is due to arrive in September. The prototype on display will be upgraded with extra padding around the headband, and Func is still deciding whether it will ship with cloth or leather ear cups, but the large circumaural cans already look like a good fit – expected to cost around £65 at launch, they include a detachable 3.5mm audio cable and boom microphone, with volume controls built into the headset. Audio is tuned towards the flatter end of the sound spectrum, but it could still create ample bass during a brief playthrough of Bioshock Infinite.

If Func can match the quality seen on the show floor, there’s plenty to look forward to when its final retail products launch later in the year.