The Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark is a special edition headset created to drop players right into the heart of battle, with smoking cinder, buildings reduced to rubble and cordite in the air. It follows other similarly themed hardware from the high-end gaming peripherals manufacturer which include Battlefield 3 editions of the Onza, the BlackWidow and the Imperator. In our review of the special edition, we push it beyond the limits of its comfort zone and plug it into a variety of devices to see if it is really worthy of BF3 badging.
The piece of hardware seems to draw inspiration from the likes of the David Clark H10 series of helicopter pilot headsets. And while it’s similar to the ones you’ll see in BF3, it digresses slightly with a few improvements. It even comes with an adjustable microphone boom and a comfy head rest. And although you might find it a bit heavy, it is lighter than practically all other licensed Razer headsets like the wireless Mass Effect 3 Chimera 5.1 and the StarCraft II Banshee.
Design: The headset looks distinctive even for a Razer product. For one, it’s among the few not to feature the tough braided wire jacket with a USB connector. Instead, it’s got a sleek orange rubberized cable that runs through it and ends in a 3.5mm combined audio and mic pin. This lends both an eye-catching color combination and a beautiful look to the audio device. An extension is also provided with split support for each audio component individually.
The Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark has uncharacteristic smooth, oval-shaped ear cups; uncharacteristic for a Razer product. They are padded with leatherette memory foam, which although never gets uncomfortable or painful, can lead to slightly damp ears, especially during long gaming sessions. In addition, the flexible microphone attachment adds a very retro look and feel to the headset. The subtle Razer monikers on the screws of the head rest add a touch of elegance.
Comfort: On the comfort front, the headset doesn’t disappoint. After wearing it for a while you’ll barely feel it. It does take some getting used to though – the adjustable boom is something that you’ll probably find both functional and aesthetic. But the BlackShark soon grows on you, and it’s so comfortable that you might even reach for it when on-the-go music takes priority. In that respect, its ability to cut out stray sound doesn’t only help in-game. Even the head rest is much more comfortable than other products from the gaming peripheral manufacturer such as the Carcharias. It may not be as bulky as many headsets out there, but it isn’t very portable, which brings us to the next feature on our minds.
Portability: Many headset makers take the time and effort to ensure that their products are easy to transport safely and securely. The Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark fails in this department and is quite a pain to carry with you. You’ll have to find a workaround, or purchase an expensive carry case to keep it snug and free from accidental damage while traveling. After all, even though it exudes style in ample quantity, wearing it in isolation makes little sense. And you might want to show it off to your gaming clan, but getting it there with peace of mind will be a challenging task. Traditionally, Razer headsets have always lacked in this department.
Audio Quality: The audio quality that the special edition headset delivers is pretty impressive. First off, a good deal of unwanted sound is blocked allowing more precise game audio to be picked up. Some low sounds squeeze through though, and hearing a bass thump in background every now and then can get annoying. But that’s only if you play your video games in a very noisy environment. Otherwise the headset holds up well to the general rigors of the job.
We even took the Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark on a journey through a variety of music genres and plugged it into several gadgets. Reiterating what we said earlier, after long hours it can get a bit moist, but on a whole, the audio delivered is clear and crisp and you can pick out every little clink of a tambourine. Jack Johnson’s soothing ukulele riffs in ‘Breakdown’ has so many more levels of sound than we initially realized. The speedy little piano riffs and the bass guitar’s off-beat rhythm in Bouncing Round the Room by Phish come out perfectly. Even the typicality of The Shins is not lost on the themed Razer headset.
Functionality: When it comes to functionality, the BF3 Razer BlackShark is a really capable piece of hardware. The ear cups offer interesting degrees of freedom, allowing them to be pivoted so as to fit as desired, further cutting out noise in the process. Unlike the Carcharias, wire-mounted audio controls do not feature, and this is a sort of a let-down. Of course, it wouldn’t be in keeping with the design, but it’s a sacrifice; design over functionality.
We spent several hours playing around with practically every aspect of the headset and our only gripe was that the mic boom got a bit loose towards the end. Nothing a little make-shift adjusting couldn’t fix though.
The Final Word: The special edition BlackShark looks gorgeous, and feels even better. Its design and high-end performance attributes come together wonderfully to give comfort as well as quality audio playback. While the memory foam padding on the ear pads doesn’t really make you feel like you’re in a war-ravaged heli, it does elicit a great sense of collected urgency, something hard to find. What the headset lacks is the proper packaging which would make it much easier to carry around for music on the go or a video game tournament. Either way, the Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark is one capable piece of machinery that you won’t need to replace for quite some time, mic or no mic.
Comfort: 8.5/10
Design and Style Factor: 9/10
Functionality: 8/10
Portability: 6/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Overall (not an average): 8.5/10