I didn't know quite what to expect when this tape arrived for review, but it turned out to be a really excellent utility for those who write games in Basic and want to include sound effects.

After adjusting your sound equipment with the aid of a signal output by the program, you are faced with a menu of 26 possible effects, including animal noises, sirens and space sounds.

Select the sound you want, and a list of parameters appears on the screen. Using these, you can adjust the quality and duration of the sound in sixteen different ways, and keep testing the result until you find exactly the effect you are after. Pressing the / key will then produce the BASIC program line which gives the effect, and this can then be copied for use as a subroutine in a program.

This tape will no doubt go down well with games specialists. I look forward to the appearance of programs rivalling the performances of Percy Edwards or the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

R.M.D.