THIS fancy keyboard is the Reclusa, borne out of a partnership between Microsoft and Razer.

Both companies make their own gaming mouses and keyboards, and probably decided they ought to cross their genetic lines to see what would come out of the lab.

Their first offspring was the Habu gaming mouse. So the keyboard is the next logical issue.

At first glance, the Reclusa (street price $109) is a bit of an odd duck and some gamers will probably write it off for its mid-range mix of features.

But give it a chance, and you'll find out that it redeems itself.

Let's start with the downsides.

The most puzzling bit about the Reclusa is the swath of glossy plastic above the keys.

It takes up about one quarter of the keyboard and serves no purpose but to display the big Microsoft logo and three small indicators for Caps Lock, Number Lock and Scroll Lock.

There are two hidden, gold-plated USB ports at the sides, but they transfer data at the slow USB 1.1 speed (about 1MB per second), not the faster USB2.0.

Among the many programmable keys, the Eject button for the PC's DVD drive is located right next to the number pad's Enter key.

You'd better re-map that key to another function because you're going to keep hitting it accidentally.

Now, for the good bits.

What has really made the keyboard stay on my desk are the highly-responsive keys, which have a soft blue backlight - good for those who insist on using their PCs in the dark.

The keys are relatively easy to press, produce the traditional clackety-clack sound and just feel good to bang away on.

I also couldn't keep my fingers off the two customisable 360-deg jog dials.

The right-hand dial's default function lets you control music volume like a DJ. The other, I mapped to hide all windows at a twist.

At the sides of the keyboard are 10 more customisable keys.

Compared to rivals from Logitech and Razer itself, the Reclusa can't really compete in terms of features.

It's not for hardcore gamers, but it will grow on you as a workhorse keyboard.

RATING: 3.5/5