SVEN company is known for its speaker systems, but there are lots of other interesting things in its product line: headsets, UPS’s, PC keyboards and mice, and even web cameras. Now it also has gaming joysticks for flight sim fans. They are rarely produced these days, so we went and tested one.

What’s in the Box?

SVEN Aggressor comes in a simple white and blue cardboard box with a photo of the device and tech specs in Russian. Inside, there is no plastic foam, no extra details: the joystick stays in place because of a couple of paper boards. There is a software CD, an operation manual and a year’s warranty included.

The joystick itself looks simple. Its big base made of black plastic is decorated with a round-shaped golden insert. For desktop mounting there are four suction cups on the bottom. The stick is designed in the same style as the base. It’s specially shaped for placing your fingers conveniently. The dimensions are also OK: the stick is long enough to fit a large hand.

The device has standard controls. The trigger is under the index finger. Right under the thumb, there are five buttons and a POV switch. There are also buttons on the base – two rows with three buttons in each on the left and a throttle in front of the stick. It’s funny that all the buttons are numbered – no complicated names. It’s convenient because when you make settings in the game you clearly see the functions of the buttons.

Takeoff

The joystick communicates with the computer via a USB port. The package contains a software CD, but you can easily do without it. As soon as Windows ‘feels’ the joystick, it installs the drivers and works fine. Although, you won’t manage to make the fine-tuning available with the original program.

As for the operation, SVEN Aggressor works OK. The suction cups cling to the desktop well and carry quite serious loads. The location of the buttons is more than comfortable. The stick is tight enough not to skip the needed angle, besides, it has a vertical rotation axis. Extreme fans are offered a vibration feedback feature turning on with a slide switch on the bottom. The only thing we didn’t like was a noticeable dead zone of about 10 degrees.

SVEN Aggressor will cost you around 25 dollars. For this money, you’ll get a joystick featuring all the basic options. Sure, it’s simply made, but the assembly and operation are excellent. It’s an ideal choice for those who are in doubt if they want to join flight sim fans.