If you've been waiting to fly the friendly skies virtually via Microsoft Flight Simulator, your wait is nearly over. The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator releases August 18 for PC and preorders are available beginning today. Microsoft announced three different versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator to fit your aviation needs: a standard edition, Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe and Microsoft Flight Simulator Premium editions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/21/microsoft-flight-simulator-airports"] The standard edition includes "20 highly detailed planes" and "30 hand-crafted airports," and costs $59.99. The standard edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator will also be included as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC on day-one. The Deluxe edition includes everything from the standard edition plus an additional five aircraft and five international airports, and retails for $89.99. The Premium edition builds on the Deluxe edition, including everything from the standard and deluxe and adding an additional 10 plans and 10 international airports, for a total of 35 airplanes and 45 hand-crafted airports. Since you have a little over a month to prepare, you're going to need to clear off 150GB of room to install Microsoft Flight Simulator to make room for all those textures and maps from all over the world. If our hands-on preview of Microsoft Flight Simulator is any indication of the final product, it will be worth freeing up the space. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

If you've been waiting to fly the friendly skies virtually via Microsoft Flight Simulator, your wait is nearly over. The latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator releases August 18 for PC and preorders are available beginning today. Microsoft announced three different versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator to fit your aviation needs: a standard edition, Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe and Microsoft Flight Simulator Premium editions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/21/microsoft-flight-simulator-airports"] The standard edition includes "20 highly detailed planes" and "30 hand-crafted airports," and costs $59.99. The standard edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator will also be included as part of Xbox Game Pass for PC on day-one. The Deluxe edition includes everything from the standard edition plus an additional five aircraft and five international airports, and retails for $89.99. The Premium edition builds on the Deluxe edition, including everything from the standard and deluxe and adding an additional 10 plans and 10 international airports, for a total of 35 airplanes and 45 hand-crafted airports. Since you have a little over a month to prepare, you're going to need to clear off 150GB of room to install Microsoft Flight Simulator to make room for all those textures and maps from all over the world. If our hands-on preview of Microsoft Flight Simulator is any indication of the final product, it will be worth freeing up the space. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Twitter @sethmacy.

A LEGO replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System appears to have leaked online, leading LEGO to tease an official launch for the set on social media. VJGamer posted an article earlier today revealing the new set, showing off the box, manual and individual pieces. The set consists of a CRT TV playing World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. for the NES, a Nintendo Entertainment System replica console and controller, and the Super Mario Bros. cartridge. The full set contains 2,646 pieces, making it quite a substantial build. LEGO website Promo Bricks is reporting that the set will have a €229,99 price tag and launch on August 1, alongside the previously revealed LEGO Super Mario sets.

According to Chinese website VJGamer LEGO is planning to launch a Nintendo Entertainment System LEGO sethttps://t.co/B15owu8ShC

German website Promo Bricks reports an August 1 release date with a 229,99€ price taghttps://t.co/m6fUMjsoTe pic.twitter.com/9Vg9taQ4k5 — Nibel (@Nibellion) July 13, 2020

It looks like the NES set will also be compatible with the LEGO Super Mario kits revealed earlier this year. In particular, it appears this leaked set will interface with the Adventures With Mario Starter Course, as one image shows the 3D Mario toy slotted into the top of the CRT. The audio effect symbols in the image suggest that the character will be able to make sounds and augment the experience when the handle on the side of the box is turned. In response to the leak, the official LEGO Twitter account all but confirmed the set with a short gif and the tagline "are you ready to play like never before?"

Are you ready to play like never before? pic.twitter.com/XuNFD7rP0B

— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) July 13, 2020

You can check out the full list of LEGO Super Mario sets here. In other Nintendo news, check out our final preview of Paper Mario: The Origami King. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A LEGO replica of the Nintendo Entertainment System appears to have leaked online, leading LEGO to tease an official launch for the set on social media. VJGamer posted an article earlier today revealing the new set, showing off the box, manual and individual pieces. The set consists of a CRT TV playing World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. for the NES, a Nintendo Entertainment System replica console and controller, and the Super Mario Bros. cartridge. The full set contains 2,646 pieces, making it quite a substantial build. LEGO website Promo Bricks is reporting that the set will have a €229,99 price tag and launch on August 1, alongside the previously revealed LEGO Super Mario sets.

According to Chinese website VJGamer LEGO is planning to launch a Nintendo Entertainment System LEGO sethttps://t.co/B15owu8ShC

German website Promo Bricks reports an August 1 release date with a 229,99€ price taghttps://t.co/m6fUMjsoTe pic.twitter.com/9Vg9taQ4k5 — Nibel (@Nibellion) July 13, 2020

It looks like the NES set will also be compatible with the LEGO Super Mario kits revealed earlier this year. In particular, it appears this leaked set will interface with the Adventures With Mario Starter Course, as one image shows the 3D Mario toy slotted into the top of the CRT. The audio effect symbols in the image suggest that the character will be able to make sounds and augment the experience when the handle on the side of the box is turned. In response to the leak, the official LEGO Twitter account all but confirmed the set with a short gif and the tagline "are you ready to play like never before?"

Are you ready to play like never before? pic.twitter.com/XuNFD7rP0B

— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) July 13, 2020

You can check out the full list of LEGO Super Mario sets here. In other Nintendo news, check out our final preview of Paper Mario: The Origami King. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Far Cry 6’s reveal brought with it the confirmation of who would be joining the ranks of the series’ iconic villains — Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian actor Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito plays Anton Castillo, a dictator in the island nation of Yara and its capital city, Esperanza. IGN spoke with Esposito ahead of the announcement to discuss Anton’s motives, his layered characterization, and a bit more about the fictional island nation at the heart of Far Cry 6. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/breaking-bads-ultimate-villain-is-now-far-cry-6s-final-boss"] “His father was a dictator before him and he wants to empower the people to take their country back. His goal is to use the resources that they have within the country to survive without allowing outsiders to come in and co-opt their scientists, their intellectual property, all of these things,” Esposito said, noting that Anton was “born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” And Anton is, well, grappling with quite a bit as Esposito explained: “He really means good, but he's in a world that's moving progressively forward faster than he is. And he has to find the assets that his people have to be able to exploit those assets and allow his people to believe in him, all this in the midst of a civil revolution that's happening in his country by several different factions that he's got to put down...and he’s trying to raise a son.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=far-cry-6-images&captions=true"] That relationship with his son, who we also see in the Far Cry 6 reveal trailer, is key to the humanity Esposito sees in Anton. His son is played by Anthony Gonzalez, who starred as Miguel in Pixar’s Coco. "His relationship [with his son] is he's impatient. His son isn't as grown as he wants him to be,” he said. “He wants him to grow up faster, he wants to give him the skills and empower him to know that he has the power over life and death. Very difficult thing for a young man, just going through puberty to get wrapped around. How do you turn your back on being youthful and grow up quickly to be groomed, to take over a small island nation?” Esposito, who said he believed the game was set in present day, explained how Winston Churchill actually inspired the way he portrayed Anton, as a dictator ruling over a paradise that doesn't really know how to make full use of what it offers. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/far-cry-6-reveal-trailer"] "It makes me think of Winston Churchill when he went to Uganda years ago, he said that was the jewel of Africa. It had everything. And that was my vision," he said. "It was feeling as if I'm in this lush place that had no means to get out the cucumbers and the potatoes. It had no means to really market the beautiful flowers to the world, that had no leadership, hadn't followed through to be able to take advantage of their assets and yet keep them still at home. Anton is really complicated, yet he knows he has to rule with an iron fist and put down the revolutionaries to be able to start the process of healing to begin with." For more on Far Cry 6, we also spoke to narrative director Navid Khavari, who told us why the game has made a return to a tropical setting for the first time since Far Cry 3. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Far Cry 6’s reveal brought with it the confirmation of who would be joining the ranks of the series’ iconic villains — Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian actor Giancarlo Esposito. Esposito plays Anton Castillo, a dictator in the island nation of Yara and its capital city, Esperanza. IGN spoke with Esposito ahead of the announcement to discuss Anton’s motives, his layered characterization, and a bit more about the fictional island nation at the heart of Far Cry 6. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/breaking-bads-ultimate-villain-is-now-far-cry-6s-final-boss"] “His father was a dictator before him and he wants to empower the people to take their country back. His goal is to use the resources that they have within the country to survive without allowing outsiders to come in and co-opt their scientists, their intellectual property, all of these things,” Esposito said, noting that Anton was “born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” And Anton is, well, grappling with quite a bit as Esposito explained: “He really means good, but he's in a world that's moving progressively forward faster than he is. And he has to find the assets that his people have to be able to exploit those assets and allow his people to believe in him, all this in the midst of a civil revolution that's happening in his country by several different factions that he's got to put down...and he’s trying to raise a son.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=far-cry-6-images&captions=true"] That relationship with his son, who we also see in the Far Cry 6 reveal trailer, is key to the humanity Esposito sees in Anton. His son is played by Anthony Gonzalez, who starred as Miguel in Pixar’s Coco. "His relationship [with his son] is he's impatient. His son isn't as grown as he wants him to be,” he said. “He wants him to grow up faster, he wants to give him the skills and empower him to know that he has the power over life and death. Very difficult thing for a young man, just going through puberty to get wrapped around. How do you turn your back on being youthful and grow up quickly to be groomed, to take over a small island nation?” Esposito, who said he believed the game was set in present day, explained how Winston Churchill actually inspired the way he portrayed Anton, as a dictator ruling over a paradise that doesn't really know how to make full use of what it offers. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/far-cry-6-reveal-trailer"] "It makes me think of Winston Churchill when he went to Uganda years ago, he said that was the jewel of Africa. It had everything. And that was my vision," he said. "It was feeling as if I'm in this lush place that had no means to get out the cucumbers and the potatoes. It had no means to really market the beautiful flowers to the world, that had no leadership, hadn't followed through to be able to take advantage of their assets and yet keep them still at home. Anton is really complicated, yet he knows he has to rule with an iron fist and put down the revolutionaries to be able to start the process of healing to begin with." For more on Far Cry 6, we also spoke to narrative director Navid Khavari, who told us why the game has made a return to a tropical setting for the first time since Far Cry 3. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Ubisoft has just finished its first Ubisoft Forward event – and announced that it will broadcast later this year. Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot said that there will be "a lot more to come" from Ubisoft, and an Ubisoft spokesperson said the next conference will include "games news and updates" Today's event saw release dates announced for Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, among other announcements. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Ubisoft has just finished its first Ubisoft Forward event – and announced that it will broadcast later this year. Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot said that there will be "a lot more to come" from Ubisoft, and an Ubisoft spokesperson said the next conference will include "games news and updates" Today's event saw release dates announced for Far Cry 6, Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla, among other announcements. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will introduce new narrative elements for the Animus that provide lore justifications for new gameplay possibilities, namely the ability to switch the gender of the player character at will, as well as bring modern-day protagonist Layla into the historical open world. A recent hands-on demonstration of Assassin's Creed Valhalla I took part in featured the ability to swap Eivor's gender from a menu. But it turns out this isn't a demo feature to allow journalists to show both male and female versions of the character to readers. Talking to IGN, Valhalla’s Narrative Director Darby McDevitt explained - while avoiding any story spoilers - that this is a new gameplay feature to ensure both male and female versions of Eivor are considered canon. The feature is backed up by new lore that upgrades the abilities of the Animus, the machine that allows Assassin’s Creed’s characters to explore the memories of their ancestors. “You can go into the Animus layer of our game,” he said. “There's an option to change the memory stream. To explain why would spoil a long-running secret, but I will say that the whole reason for why you can switch [Eivor’s gender] back and forth fully embraces the often overlooked science fiction nature of our series.” “We've got this thing that's called genetic memory, and we've got this Animus,” he added. “What are all the ways you can play with that? And how could we leverage that to make a character that you could choose male or female? We found a way that we think is pretty satisfying.” While McDevitt would not explain the story reasons for the Animus doing this, it seems reasonable to predict that this is an continuation on from an idea explored in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In that game, when the Animus scans DNA found on Leonidas' spear, it finds two potential matches in siblings Kassandra and Alexios, hence your choice of protagonist. For Valhalla, we may be dealing with a damaged DNA sample that cannot determine Eivor's gender, and so the simulation fills in the blanks based on what Layla/the player asks it to do. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-ubisoft-forward-screenshots&captions=true"] The Animus also has another new ability: to bring modern-day protagonist Laya into the simulation itself, allowing you to control her in the Anglo-Saxon open world. It’s an innovation designed to solve a problem previous games have had. “The modern day story often grinds the experience to a halt,” McDevitt said. “Taking you out of whatever historical period you're in and putting you into the present day where you have a bunch of different characters with different skills, different affordances, and different abilities. It really has this kind of hard stop.” Layla being able to explore the open world prevents that hard stop. “The story is that there are anomalies inside the stimulation. And when you find them as Eivor, Layla and her handlers will pause the simulation, and set up this big thing for her to deal with. It’s a big puzzle, lots of intense puzzle solving and parkour so that you can acquire a bit of interesting data and then close this rift.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/13-minutes-of-assassins-creed-valhalla-gameplay-raising-iron-quest"] “And so that the experience is much more comfortable,” he adds, “you're not just going into a loading menu, going into a small office somewhere in the present day. You still get to be Layla, but you get to be Layla in the past. And so that means that all these interesting skills that she may have learned - the parkour, the epic vistas, and the puzzle solving - you get to float right into that without any kind of hitch.” For more from Assassin's Creed, check our our big breakdown of the evolution of the series, as well as our hands-on with Valhalla. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will introduce new narrative elements for the Animus that provide lore justifications for new gameplay possibilities, namely the ability to switch the gender of the player character at will, as well as bring modern-day protagonist Layla into the historical open world. A recent hands-on demonstration of Assassin's Creed Valhalla I took part in featured the ability to swap Eivor's gender from a menu. But it turns out this isn't a demo feature to allow journalists to show both male and female versions of the character to readers. Talking to IGN, Valhalla’s Narrative Director Darby McDevitt explained - while avoiding any story spoilers - that this is a new gameplay feature to ensure both male and female versions of Eivor are considered canon. The feature is backed up by new lore that upgrades the abilities of the Animus, the machine that allows Assassin’s Creed’s characters to explore the memories of their ancestors. “You can go into the Animus layer of our game,” he said. “There's an option to change the memory stream. To explain why would spoil a long-running secret, but I will say that the whole reason for why you can switch [Eivor’s gender] back and forth fully embraces the often overlooked science fiction nature of our series.” “We've got this thing that's called genetic memory, and we've got this Animus,” he added. “What are all the ways you can play with that? And how could we leverage that to make a character that you could choose male or female? We found a way that we think is pretty satisfying.” While McDevitt would not explain the story reasons for the Animus doing this, it seems reasonable to predict that this is an continuation on from an idea explored in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. In that game, when the Animus scans DNA found on Leonidas' spear, it finds two potential matches in siblings Kassandra and Alexios, hence your choice of protagonist. For Valhalla, we may be dealing with a damaged DNA sample that cannot determine Eivor's gender, and so the simulation fills in the blanks based on what Layla/the player asks it to do. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=assassins-creed-valhalla-ubisoft-forward-screenshots&captions=true"] The Animus also has another new ability: to bring modern-day protagonist Laya into the simulation itself, allowing you to control her in the Anglo-Saxon open world. It’s an innovation designed to solve a problem previous games have had. “The modern day story often grinds the experience to a halt,” McDevitt said. “Taking you out of whatever historical period you're in and putting you into the present day where you have a bunch of different characters with different skills, different affordances, and different abilities. It really has this kind of hard stop.” Layla being able to explore the open world prevents that hard stop. “The story is that there are anomalies inside the stimulation. And when you find them as Eivor, Layla and her handlers will pause the simulation, and set up this big thing for her to deal with. It’s a big puzzle, lots of intense puzzle solving and parkour so that you can acquire a bit of interesting data and then close this rift.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/12/13-minutes-of-assassins-creed-valhalla-gameplay-raising-iron-quest"] “And so that the experience is much more comfortable,” he adds, “you're not just going into a loading menu, going into a small office somewhere in the present day. You still get to be Layla, but you get to be Layla in the past. And so that means that all these interesting skills that she may have learned - the parkour, the epic vistas, and the puzzle solving - you get to float right into that without any kind of hitch.” For more from Assassin's Creed, check our our big breakdown of the evolution of the series, as well as our hands-on with Valhalla. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.