One of the games that I really liked back in the day was Tetris. The puzzle game has different shapes that tumble from the top of the screen and fill up the area. The goal is to align the different pieces to fill up a row and make the row disappear. If you don’t align enough when the parts touch the top of the screen, you lose.
Tetris Free is now on the Android Market for you to download. The app was updated August 24 and is being offered at no cost exclusively on Android devices. The game is a new and improved version of the original Tetris with the music we all know and it includes the Marathon Mode as well.
The game uses the touchscreen for control and the pieces can be slid and rotated using the fingers. The free version also allows for stat tracking so they can work to beat their high score. I bet a bunch of people grab this game today.
“Tetris is one of the most distinctive, well-known and popular video game franchises in the world and it gives EA the opportunity to grow its already-expanding customer base on the Android platform,” said Bernard Kim, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for EA Interactive. “Tetris has a strong legacy in the mobile gaming world and we’re excited to bring a free version of Tetris to yet another great platform.”
Great news, but … why does the Tetris game need to be able to place phone calls (under permissions)?
That permission is poorly worded and categorized by the Android system. 99% of the time that permission is requested in order to get the device id. Now, I can’t speak entirely for Tetris or EA as to their intentions…
Google really needs to put the device id under it’s own set of permissions in order to decrease the user outrage at the potential risk of “placing phone calls”.
There are a few of the permissions I am weary about (Especially after learning about EA’s Origin spyware). I understand that the application would likely want to get the phone ID for some sort of “highscore” saving but the permissions about making phone calls and reading phone identity seem to be separated:
– Phone Calls (Read phone state and identity) — Which is what I assume gets the ID of the phoneand
– Services that cost you money (Directly call phone numbers).
Also, why does it need GPS permissions? Are they trying to track where I am while playing?
Maybe I just have a tinfoil hat on but I’m getting very worrisome about my information and EA.
Actually there is a separate permission for getting the phone ID; the one I specifically flipped out about is under “Services that cost you money || directly call phone numbers”. The ID permission is listed under “Phone calls ||read phone state and identity”.
Also, does not show on my Honeycomb tablet’s Market.
Really guys?
Why is it not available in Taiwan?
Won’t be installing because of the dodgy permissions.