With the ever increasing popularity of console gaming, especially in the competitive sense, there are now a large number of companies out there that provide custom designed game controllers as well as modded controllers. With the ever expanding list of companies that a rallying for your business and promising the best controllers available it can be hard to decide which company is worthy of your money.

Aim Controllers is one of the companies leading the modded controller charge and is also one of the few companies out there that actually stound out in the pack. They offer an affordable customer controller service that gives you a multitude of options when it comes to creating the perfect controller.

Today we are going to be taking a look at a custom modded PS4 controller and Xbox One controller that we have designed in order to see just how good Aim Controllers really are. Join is in our review of the Aim Controllers PS4 and Xbox One modded controllers.

The Aim Controllers Creation Process – Who Would Have Thought Product Design is This Easy?

When it comes to creating your custom controllers with Aim Controllers they have taken the time and effort to make it incredibly easy to do. On the Aim Controllers website they have a section called “Lab” which is where you go to use the controller builder.

On this page you are able to select whether you would like to custom create a PS4 or Xbox One controller, both starting at $69. It is simply a matter of selecting the controller you want to create and you are taken straight to the controller builder.

Once on the controller builder you a shown an image of the stock Xbox One or PS4 controller as well as a list of customisation options on the right hand side of the page. The great thing about the builder is that when you select a customisation option from the right the selected customisation shall be shown on the image of the controller. This is great as it gives you a chance to see how the controller will look once it has been built. I know this seems like something that should always exist on a custom controller website however you would be surprised how often it is not. A lot of other companies simply have you select the customisations you want and you can see it once it has been delivered… crazy I know.

There are a great amount of customisation options available for your controller that really allow you to create a controller that is unique for you. Here are the options that are available to you:

Type of Modification

Here is where you are able to select what modification you would like added to your controller. The modifications are the Aim paddles which we shall cover in more detail a little later.

You have the option of:

None

Black Aim Paddles

White Aim Paddles

Black Aim Remapping Paddles

White Aim Remapping Paddles

Front Shell Colour

Now it is time to select the front shell that you want to be used for your custom controller. You have a range of colour and image options available to you including matt, splatter, soft touch and image designs. For example:

Red Matt

Green Splatter

Aim Hex Orange

LED

For the Xbox One you are able to change the LED colour that you would like to have included in the controller. You are able to pick from:

Stock

Red

Blue

Green

Button Colour

You have a range of colour options available to you for the Xbox One and PS4 button colours including:

Stock

Black

White

Red

Green

Blue

Orange

Purple

Yellow

D-Pad

Similar to that of the controller buttons, you are able to choose the colour that you would like to use for the directional pad on the controller.

Share/Options Colour

Here you are able to select the colour of the Share/Options buttons which includes:

Black

White

Red

Green

Blue

Orange

Purple

Yellow

Bumpers

The last of the buttons that you now customise is the bumpers. As per the other buttons you can choose from:

Black

White

Red

Green

Blue

Orange

Purple

Yellow

Left Aim Stick Base

Now it is time to select the Aim Stick colours. The great thing about Aim Controllers is that with their Aim Sticks you are able to select the colour you want for the base of the stick as well as a colour for the top of the stick. This gives you more design choices. You can select from:

Black

White

Red

Green

Orange

Purple

Yellow

Left Aim Stick Top

Once you have selected the base colour you are able to select not only the Aim Stick top colour but also the height. The ability to choose the height of the Aim Sticks is fantastic as it really allows you to construct a custom controller that really fits your hands.

There are 3 heights that you can choose from:

Standard

Medium

High

When it comes to colours you are able to select from the same colours that you were able to choose for the Aim Stick base.

Right Aim Stick Base

You are now able to select the same as you did with the left Aim Stick for the right Aim Stick. You are able to choose different colours from the left stick which is nice to see.

Right Aim Stick Top

Similar to as you did for the left Aim Stick you can choose the colour and height options for the right Aim Stick.

Left Side Gamer Tag

Now here is something that few custom controller companies offer. Aim Controllers allows you to add your gamer tag to the controller which is a great way for you to represent yourself or your team.

You simply need to type in your gamer tag into the text field.

Gamer Tag Left Colour

Now that you have added your gamer tag you are able to select the colour that you want the gamer tag to be printed in. You are able to select from:

Black

White

Red

Green

Blue

Orange

Purple

Yellow

Right Side Gamer Tag

You are able to also add a gamer tag to the right hand side of the controller.

Gamer Tag Right Colour

As you were able to do with the left side gamer tag, you are able to choose the colour of the right side gamer tag.

Left Aim Paddle/Button Configuration

If you have opted to include Aim Paddles with your controller, which we highly suggest you do… because they are amazing, this is where you configure them. You are able to bind a controller button to the paddle which allows you to press the paddle during gameplay which in turn will trigger the specified button press.

If you have opted to not go for the remap option it is important to remember that you will not be able to remap the button config.

You are able to bind the paddle to:

A

B

X

Y

Left Bumper

Right Bumper

Left Thumbstick Down

Right Thumbstick Down

Right Aim Paddle/Button Configuration

As with the left paddle, you are able to configure the write paddle.

Smart Triggers V2

Here is another awesome mod available from Aim Controllers, the Smart Triggers. We shall go into more detail about Smart Triggers further down in the review.

Logo PS4 Light Bar – Text

Here you are able to add a text logo that will be printed over the PS$ light bar. This option is only available for the PS4

Touchpad Logo

For the PS4 controller you are able to upload an image to Aim Controllers that will be printed on the PS4 controller touch pad. This is pretty sweet because it allows you to add your team logo or player icon to your controller.

Rumble Packs

If you are a gamer that does not like the feel of the controller rumble or would prefer to have a lighter controller, you are able to remove the rumbles from the custom controller should you wish to. Removing the rumbles will reduce the weight of the controller by roughly 50grams.

Accessories

Finally you are able to add any extra accessories such as cables to your order.

So, What Did We Create?

Xbox One Build

For our Xbox One build we selected the following configuration options:

Type of Modification: White Aim Remapping Paddles

Front Shel Colour: Black Matt

LED Colour: Standard White

Buttons Colour: Stock

D-Pad Colour: Green

Share/Options Colour: Green

Bumpers Colour: Green

Left Aim Stick Base: White

Left Aim Stick Top: Green

Right Aim Stick Base: White

Left Aim Stick Top: Green

Triggers: Green

Left Gamer Tag: None

Right Gamer Tag: None

Left Paddle Config: A

Right Paddle Config: B

Smart Triggers V2: Yes

Rumble Pack: Yes

PS4 Build

For our PS4 build we selected the following configuration options:

Type of Modification: Black Aim Remapping Paddles

Front Shell Colour: Green Matt

Buttons Colour: Stock

D-Pad Colour: Stock

Share/Options Colour: Stock

Left Aim Stick Base: Green

Left Aim Stick Top: Black

Right Aim Stick Base: Green

Left Aim Stick Top: Black

Left Gamer Tag: None

Right Gamer Tag: None

Left Paddle Config: X

Right Paddle Config: O

Logo PS4 Light Bar: None

Touchpad Logo: None

Smart Triggers V2: Yes

Rumble Pack: Yes

But How Does it All Look?

When we received our custom PS4 and Xbox One controllers they were packaged in cardboard Aim Controllers packaging. The front of the box has a clear window so that you can see your controller in all of its glory. At the top of the box you have the Aim controllers logo printed.

Turning to the rear of the packaging there are printed images of a PS4 and Xbox One controller that showcase the AIM paddles. Accompanying the images there is printed text that explains the Aim Paddles and the remap functionality in more detail.

On the right hand side of the box there is a printed image of a PS4 controller that shows off the Aim Smart Triggers. Finally, on the left hand side of the box there are some shots of the Aim Sticks. The images show the 3 size options that are available with the Aim Sticks.

The controllers are kept in place with foam packaging that is cut to the size and shape of the controller, keeping the controllers nice and snug in their box. This is nice to see as it helps ensure that the controllers won’t be damaged during shipping.

One nice thing was the inclusion of some goodies in the box in the form of a lanyard and key chain.

Xbox One Custom Controller

The Xbox One customer controller that we received looks great. I am a big fan of matt colours and the matt black looks fantastic. Besides matt looking nice another benefit of going for a matt shell is that it helps a little if you are someone that gets sweaty palms whilst playing console games.

The green buttons, sticks and bumpers came out nice. I would have liked a more lime green that we received with the PS4 controller however the green used for the Xbox One is nice also. The green resembles that of the glow in the dark green that is used on products. We did not opt to change the button colours for the A, B, X and Y buttons as you would not be able to see the lettering any longer. It would be great if there were additional button options available where you could change the colours but keep the lettering.

We opted for the smart triggers which are absolutely fantastic. Smart triggers convert the standard triggers of the controller to that of button presses rather than the standard trigger style where you must fully squeeze the trigger. This means that the triggers need very little force in order to be triggered. There is a very satisfying audible click when you squeeze the trigger, similar to that of a mouse click. The smart triggers will work in most games however if you are someone that love your driving games you will likely need to give the smart triggers a miss as you no longer have the ability to fully squeeze the trigger and ramp up the tension, for example when accelerating the car. I found that the Smart Triggers gave much more control with the controller as there was very little hand movement required.

At the rear of the controller we opted to install the Aim Paddles with the ability to remap them. The paddles that we installed were white which we felt contrasted nicely with the black shell. In regards to the Aim Paddles themselves, let me start by saying that these are incredible. When it comes to modded controllers most companies allows you to install buttons on the rear of the controller which, whilst also being nice, are nowhere near as nice as paddles in my opinion. The paddles, to me, feel more natural than rear buttons do. Obviously this is just a personal preference. The Aim paddles that we had installed are able to be remapped easily thanks to the remap chip. There are instructions included in the package that show you how to easily remap the paddles to the buttons of your choosing. Having the Aim Paddles installed made such a difference to my experience playing games on a console. It feels much more natural then having to stretch your thumb away from the analogue stick over to the button. The best thing about it is that you do not need to remove your thumb from the sticks in order to make button presses which gives you far more control in game as well as a much better response time and accuracy.

PS4 Custom Controller

Now let us take a look at the PS4 controller that we created. For the custom PS4 controller we opted to a simple but striking look. We selected the matte green looks and feels great. The bright green colour is much more vibrant than the green used for the Xbox One controller. It matte has a great feel in your hand and is non slip, great for hours of gaming.

We added Smart Triggers to the PS4 controller as we did with the Xbox One controller and they feel absolutely fantastic. In comparison to the Xbox One controller I actually think the Smart Triggers feel better on the PS4, they are just so responsive.

Similar to the Xbox One custom controller that we built, we also added remap Aim Paddles to the rear of the PS4 controller and I am certainly glad we did. The white remap Aim Paddles, like the Smart Triggers feel amazing. The placement of the triggers is perfect and are installed precisely where your fingers naturally sit at the rear of the controller. They require a little bit of pressure in order to press however not too much pressure where you are not able to comfortably press them. The tension of the paddles is just right so that it avoids accidental presses during gameplay.

Both of the PS4 and Xbox One custom controllers come with Aim Sticks. Aim Sticks allow you to remove the top of the thumbstick and swap the tops out with different styles and heights. This is great as it really helps you customise your controller in a way that works best for you.

Aim Controllers use stock controllers from Sony and Microsoft, meaning that the build quality is sensational where as other companies use aftermarket controllers which have quality issues. You have your full warranty with Aim Controllers so if you ever have any issues with your new controllers then help is at hand.

Conclusion

If you are looking to raise your game and get the competitive edge with console gaming then you should be considering a modded controller. Even if you are a casual gamer and just want a better overall gaming experience you should look at getting one. Aim Controllers offer some of the best modded controllers out there and the quality is fantastic. At an affordable starting price of $69USD there is no reason why Aim Controllers shouldn’t top your list.

Where to Buy

If you are interested in creating your own killer controller head on over to the Aim Controllers website.

Design Features Performance Usability Value 4.2