Microsoft has some great news for aspiring game makers. Kodu, Microsoft research's new "game lab" is now available on the Xbox Live Community Games channel.

Kodu Game Lab is a pick-up-and-create toolset that lets anybody build their own games using a simple image-based creator menu and an Xbox 360 controller. These games can then be shared with anyone on your Friends List.

Kodu has almost 200 different programming features to choose from. In addition, it comes equipped with a bridge and path builder, a terrain editor to build unique playgrounds, co-op gameplay for up to four players and 20 different characters with a range of abilities.

The catch here is that it's not free. At only 400 MS Points, though, it's cheap enough to warrant a trial.

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