Saitek is quite obviously down with the kids. The company's new joystick is called the 'Aviator' on the box, but the 'AV8R' on the side of the stick itself. It's all 'txt spk' these days, which is quite a threat to the English language, what with its campaign to make vowels extinct. This sort of tomfoolery is putting Carol Vorderman's Countdown career on the line:

"I'll have a consonant, please Carol... and a consonant... another consonant... and a consonant... and a..."

Clock ticking* - *Silly music* - De-dum, de-dum, diddle-de-dum boo!

"So what have you got in dictionary corner, guys?"

"Eight letters: Jzghgrzz. Apparently it's the noise you make when you pull your zip up too quickly after relieving yourself."

But we're not reviewing the name (fortunately for Saitek). This joystick is aimed at the budget end of the flight sim market, at gamers who want to fly virtual combat or commercial aircraft but don't want to fork out for flight yokes, rudder pedals and a paper-maché replica of a 747 nose to fit over their computer desk.

It's actually designed with combat planes more in mind, with its military styling and in particular the flip-cover for the illuminated red 'fire missile' button (you flip this up before firing, just like on a real fighter jet). Yes, it's gimmicky, but at the same time rather fun, as it gives you that true Top Gun feel (before you know it, you'll be calling your friends "Goose" and wearing sunglasses indoors).

This button is positioned on top of the stick, and is joined by two others and an eight-way directional hat. The main finger trigger is in the usual place and it's satisfyingly sensitive, but not overly so. On the base there's a selector switch which allows you to change between control schemes on the fly (literally), and there's also a bank of four toggle switches. These are identical in design to the switches you get on real aircraft consoles, and they actually make up eight buttons, as they register both down and up movements.

Another smart touch is the throttle lever on the front of the base. This has a smooth if slightly plasticky feel, but cleverly it also has a button which splits it into two separate levers. This means you can have a dedicated throttle stick for each engine, or you can assign the flaps control to one of the sticks.

The movement of the joystick shaft itself is solid enough and it has a comfortable action. It's also a twist stick, so you can control the rudder by twisting it 15 degrees to the left or right. For such a reasonably priced peripheral, the AV8R boasts a very impressive feature-set, plenty of buttons and some appealing design. Software is also included which allows you to program keys (or multiple commands) to a button. So, are there any negatives?

We mentioned that the throttle feels plasticky, and the base is of a similarly lightweight construction. The overall build quality isn't great, and the flip-cover for the missile button seems fragile and liable to be broken by a clumsy younger sibling. However, you can't expect a solid metal stick in this price range, so we're not going to complain much.

The only other slight problem is that sometimes it's possible to accidentally twist the stick and apply rudder when you don't mean to.

This is a well featured budget flight stick with some innovative touches, like the split throttle and aeroplane console-style switches. The build quality isn't the best, but it's perfectly acceptable when you factor in the price.