Do we really like any of this stuff? We are doing it all ironically, yeah? I mean, guns and shooting and murder and spaceships and walking and wacky physics and animals and Simulators, it's all a bit much, isn't it? I'm only doing this because it's rubbish, yeah?

Perhaps we should think about the affected 'irony' that curtain-twitchers insist ruins modern culture, but we can be certain we're not lost as long as we have Peggle. PopCap's game has a unicorn and rainbows and a choir and it is lovely and wonderful and brilliant, Alka-Seltzer for irony--ping ping fever and you're back experiencing joy. If you don't already own it, it's briefly free on Origin.

Peggle's the third game free in Origin's 'On the House' promotion, which is probably as much about winning over the people who swear Origin ruins video games and they'll never install it as it is introducing new people to the digital store. So far they've given away Battlefield 3, Dead Space, and Plants vs. Zombies, which are an attractive enough spread of freebies.

Personally I'm perfectly happy having another store client sit on my colossal hard drive, not doing anything until I play one of the few games that require it. Yes, it's a bit daft that publishers started trying to have Their Own Steam after they saw Valve's success. It's unlikely we'll see them back down any time soon though, and bless 'em, they're not really hurting anyone, off in their own little worlds playing with their toys. Unless their stores and DRM go wonky and render games unplayable, of course. Origin can still struggle with that one when big games launch.

But

PEGGLE!