Whatever you may think of Sega’s performance in the console market in recent years, you cannot refute that the company was and still is the Emperor of the Arcade. From its first function in supplying pinball machines for American GIs in garrisons in Japan, Sega has always been a dominant force in seaside towns, shopping centres and airport depature lounges throughout the planet, and deservedly so. Whenever I’m in an arcade I feel obliged to spend at least a pound on one Sega machine as part of an offering to the True Way of Gaming. 
I’m pleased to announce I’ve found another wonderful little machine that reinforces Sega’s hold on the arcade crown.
Whilst I pefer sophisticated and complex gaming, I do also enjoy the exhileration of a thrilling and intense arcade blast every now and again. It’s one of the reasons why shoot-'em-ups are one of my favourite genres - I personally think that they’re the games that bridge the gap between the old and the new in computers, including purist gameplay, graphical frippery and diversifying gimmicks in equal measure. There’s also a wonderful feeling of smugness when you’re dual wielding and a small crowd gathers to watch you pull off akimbo trick shots. 
And Sega’s always been rather good at shoot-'em-ups, too. Alien 3: The Gun is a fondly-remembered nostalgic coin-magnet of mine, and the Virtua Cop and House of the Dead franchises offer keen, precise skill-shooting and relentless and gloriously brutal viscereal combat respectively. Last week, I was on holiday in Val d’Isere and in the arcade in the village I chanced across another worthy Sega shoot-'em-up: Ghost Squad.
Ghost Squad is a very entertaining shooting romp that offers a lot of variety and has the irresistable allure of unloading coin after coin into it which confirms it to be a premier arcade game. There are only three levels, but each environment has four variant missions taking place in it, and you can select a variety of different weapons with different difficulty settings, offering a lot of replay value. The shooting is magnificently intense, with swarms of enemies advancing on you, requiring quick wits and a trigger finger that won’t contract arthritis easily. Even more impressively, though, is the inclusion of a sizeable number of mini-games throughout the levels, calling on you to innovatively use your semi-automatic not to simply keep shooting but to disarm landmines, defuse bombs, snipe and even fight in hand-to-hand combat!
Reassuringly, the voice acting isn’t quite as bad as House of the Dead 2, either. 
So, I’d like to give Ghost Squad my official endorsement. If you see it in an arcade, I’d reccomend you take a gander at it - it’ll be sterling well spent.