Next, we have Namco's Burgertime Deluxe. This is a stepped-up version of the classic arcade game Burgertime. As such, it features a ton of additions to the basic gameplay that make it fairly compelling.

First of all, for those somehow unfamiliar with the game, you play as a chef out to make burgers. To do this, you have to run over the different items that comprise the burger -- bottom bun, patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and top bun -- as they lie on different levels of the playing field. The items all sit on levels above each other; if you run over an upper item, it will drop to the level below, knocking that item down to the next level, and so on down to their final resting place at the bottom of the screen. The overall goal is to earn points by various means. You reach higher and lower levels by means of ladders connecting them.

Various anthropomorphic foods chase you, taking away a life at their touch. These enemies -- eggs, hot dogs, pickles, what have you -- can be temporarily frozen in place and walked through by tossing pepper at them. You begin with a set number of shots, and extra pepper containers will appear at random around the playing field, which you can collect by running over them, replenishing your supply. You can immobilize a number of enemies at the same time if they're approaching you in a line; there's also a pepper mill that stuns all enemies on-screen when you collect it. You can only throw pepper horizontally, never vertically.

The enemies are not all alike; the egg is faster than the others and can track your movements better than the pickle; the carrot can drill down to lower levels without using the ladder; the onion leaves a cloud behind it that kills you when you run into it.

It is possible to temporarily banish an enemy from the playing field; this is done a few different ways. First, you can crush an enemy with a falling burger item if they're passing below it. If an enemy is standing on an item when you cause it to drop to the next level, it will drop down two levels instead, and kill the enemy in the process. There is also a jar of tabasco sauce that ignites all enemies on-screen. If you take out multiple enemies by whatever means, the word "Multigrill" pops up and adds to your point totals.

Collecting items also adds points; most items don't do anything other than give points, but there are a few that affect gameplay, like the Red Bull can that makes you run faster. You will also collect letters to access a bonus level; the letters spell "DINNER". The bonus level has you dodging falling burgers to reach the exit, which garners a ton of points.

As you progress through the game, the levels get larger and larger, to the point where the board will scroll as you access farther areas. There are also environmental hazards that affect play: bubbles rising from below will lift you up to the next level; water droplets from the ceiling drop you down to the lower level. Either of these can be both beneficial and detrimental, depending on where they drop you.

The one gripe I have with the game is that it doesn't get appreciably more difficult as you play. The enemies all move pretty much as fast as they ever will, and it's really easy to stockpile huge amounts of pepper. But for all that, Burgertime Deluxe is still really fun and absorbing. You can grab the demo right here for both Mac and PC.