Windows Phone 7 review: Glow Artisan

Re-create an image. It should be simple, considering all you have is three colors to use across a 5x5 grid. Yet, Glow Artisan manages to challenge your brain in one of the most clever puzzlers we've seen in some time. The premise really is that simple: all you must do is recreate an image using the three primary colors. Of course, what happens when you cross red and yellow? You create orange. What happens when you cross blue and red? You get purple. This simple premise will keep your mind sharp, as you try to unravel these images in the smallest number of moves possible.

This is undoubtedly one of the best launch titles available on Windows Phone, with an interface that simply makes sense on a touch screen device. The presentation is elegant, and the accessibility of the gameplay has this feeling more like a Nintendo game than a Microsoft one. No wonder -- it was originally a DSiWare game.

There's a lot of content to explore, and the challenge dramatically ramps up the further you progress. There's even a mode that lets you create your own puzzles. Unfortunately, there is one flaw to the overall package: "time" medals force you to recite the solution to a puzzle, but at a speed that the tiny icons on the touch interface simply cannot accommodate. It's not satisfying, and feels like an arbitrary way of extending the game's length. Still, it's one of the best games on the platform right now, and a terrific value at $5.

See also: Windows Phone 7 launch games reviews hub

This review is based on a retail Samsung Focus provided by Microsoft and AT&T.