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Electronic Entertainment, October 1994, p.34
by James Daly
Who's got time to look down at the keyboard when you're in the middle of an intense game? You can't waste precious nanoseconds locating the right key combo; you need firepower now. And you can get it with Step On It from Bilbo Innovations.
Step On It is a set of three floor pedals to which you assign any series of keyboard commands. Instead of poking around for Alt or Shift key when you want to turn up the heat in your favorite flight sim, use one pedal to control the flaps and a second to launch the missile.
Tthe pedals connect between the keyboard and computer, leaving joystick and yoke ports free. Step On It is custom made for games like X-Wing and Falcon 3.0.
One warning: Don't mistake Step On It's pedals for the specialized gaming pedals of a racing car. These function strictly in an on/off mode. But the addition of floor pedals can realy enhance the action of many games, giving you the feel of running a real tank or jet. Step On It is compatible with all PC games, not just sims. (Bilbo Innovations; 800-203-0092; PC, $99.00)
Computer Game Review , September 1994, p. 51
A company with unlikely name of Bilbo is set to change the way you think of your keyboard.
Foot pedals. Foot pedals? While I can think of flashier and more exciting products for gamers, Bilbo's pedals caught me off guard. You get three pedals that are keyboard programmable and a controller to make them all work. While the more mundane folk have already turned the page, true gamers will probably have considered the inherent advantages, particulary for flight sims. Who wants to reach to the keyboard to switch weapons in the heat of combat? Now you don't have to. The pedals are almost complitely customizable and work with any AT-type machine. Up to 13 keystrokes can be assign to each pedal; configurations can then be saved and loaded at will. Please note, thogh, that these pedals are one-shot switches, and linear switches. They will not emulate gas and brake pedals.
I readily admit that I was skeptical when I received these pedals in the post. Exactly how much good would they do me? A lot, as it turns out. Doom is a whole lot less likely to give me CTS now that I can run, strafe, and open doors with my feet. Targeting a TIE Fighter in X-Wing while automatically setting my damaged shields to even strength fore and aft became a simple maneuver. Looking back over the games that have crossed my hard drive in the past, I can think of very few that wouldn't benefit from having some of their more comlex keystrokes put in one convinient package (flight simulators, for example). The price is a bit stiff, though, and score reflects that.
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