The latest release from Red Rat Software is another compilation pack - Quartet Gold, containing Space Wars, Dreadnought, Little Devil and Laser Hawk.

Space Wars centres around the hostile actions of the Reldan Empire. At the last meeting of the Intergalactic Federation on the planet Alpine Nine, the ugly, warty Reidans from the dark stars declared war on Earth.

As the Federation prepares its own fleet and Reidan craft are massing to attack the Earth, you guide your space fighter through the asteroid belt and enter the fray.

All controls are via a joystick plugged into port one. Keep a sharp eye on your shield function panel at the top right of the screen. When it runs out, you're dead. While your shields are at full, you can ram Reidan craft and destroy them. But be careful, this drains your strength and you may end up losing a life.

The graphics and sound effects are reasonable. However, I was playing games like this ten years ago when I first got my Atari. Space Wars is an acceptable game on a compilation pack, but I wouldn't have bought it on its own.

Dreadnought is set deep under Earth's oceans. Here, a terrible battle is being waged in an attempt to save the city of Atlantis from being overrun by aliens from a distant galaxy.

Atlantis was once the home of a race of super-scientists who developed fantastic war machines. Now the attacking aliens are attempting to steal them so they can conquer the universe.

Your job, as the commander of the SS Dreadnought - the latest nuclear-powered deep water submarine - is to destroy them before they destroy you.

You control the Dreadnought using a joystick plugged into port one. The fire button will launch one of your missiles which will hopefully destroy the enemy.

Again this is an adequate game that should provide some fun. Yet another clone of the old Defender style game, it unfortunately falls short of the original. I grew very tired of Dreadnought after only a few goes.

Little Devil is a character trapped in Hades. The only way he can escape ever-lasting torment is to release the lost souls which are floating around in a state of limbo.

He must also free Princess Linarta, King Mordread's imprisoned daughter, who is held in Castle Despair. You play Little Devil and you must collect all the souls which are marked with a number, before the time limit expires.

This is done by bouncing and jumping around the various levels. You start the game with three lives and you lose one every time you come in contact with a guardian.

This is the best so far - considering it is yet another variation on a platform game. The graphics are well implemented and the sound effects reasonable. When first released at full price several companies banned it. I can't see why, and I don't think it has any links with the occult or horror.

The final game is Laser Hawk. Basically this is a helicopter shoot-'em-up very similar in design to Scramble. Unfortunately, the version I received didn't have a cassette inlay so I can't tell you the story behind it.

The game scrolls from left to right and you must fly low over enemy installations bombing them. Missiles and enemy craft constantly buzz the area, making your life very difficult.

Make sure you watch your energy level carefully, as when it drops to zero, you are dead. However, located around the screens are fuel dumps. All you have to do is fly over them and your energy level goes up.

The graphics are excellent and the animation of your chopper is very well done. For me this is the most playable game of the four. Overall, the compilation is well worth its price tag of £3.99.