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The Hit Squad's selection team are usually pretty good at selecting the vintage games of yesteryear for their label. Personally, I fear their reckoning must have been seriously impaired by alchohol when they scraped Quartet off the bottom of the licencing barrel.

There have been a number of high-profile releases over the years that have, to be frank, stank to high heaven. Either through rush programming jobs, no budget, acts of "God" or, in Quartet's case being a crappy arcade game in the first place.

Quartet was a -how shall we say"hastily" put together coin-op back in '87; a misguided endeavour by Sega to ride on the multi-player coattails of Atari's superb Gauntlet.

Still, at least is had four player novelty value and reasonable graphics. Since the Spectrum version only offers two player control and the graphics are worse than a test card in a thunderstorm - flickering and jumping all over the shop - Quartet is batting on a seriously sticky wicket.

Aim of the game is simple. Destroy everything that comes into sight, including a large exit-unlocking-key-dropping mechanical monster, and move onto the next level before... Er, well before I don't know what actually. It seems that you've got an infinite number of lives and should you get killed at any point, well, you just get up and carry on.

In fact, I managed to complete ten levels without the slightest bit of difficulty; not through any skill on my part, just carrying on from where I was last killed.

I could go on. but charity (and the lawyers) prevent me. Slapped wrists for Hit Squad.

Bottom of the barrel. Should never have seen the light of day.