Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition SP1 Beta

Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition is part of Microsoft Visual Studio Express which is free software, a set of tools for developers, that are specifically designed to make its use and learning as easy as possible.

With C++ you can create applications for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows (to use certain Win64 applications you may need to install an older version of the Windows SDK)

Its game creator (GDK) allows you to create both 2D and 3D games: puzzle games, platform games, first-person shooting games...

You can use this software and its comprehensive set of help documents to learn how to program and test as many times as you need.