Wasteland 3 is only a couple more months away, but backers of the game have been allowed an early look at inXile's highly-anticipated new title. Where our first preview of the game takes place after the story began, this Beta version gives us the opportunity to experience the title from the beginning. We get an in-depth look at the first few hours of important story context, characters, combat and more. Serving as a direct sequel to Wasteland 2 (there is sufficient backstory provided for new players), this new installment in a legendary franchise takes lore and gameplay to a whole new level. While the game is obviously not a final product, Wasteland fans have much to be excited about. This is far removed from what our Desert Rangers are used to as they head to a snowy Colorado.

During the last Wasteland installment, the Arizona Rangers had to nuke their own base to put down a rogue AI. With no resources left, Arizona would soon collapse without aid. Seemingly out of nowhere, a man who calls himself "The Patriarch" offers the Rangers a chance at survival. Promising resources to rebuild their operation, The Patriarch asks that the rangers visit him in Colorado to help with a favor. Who is this Patriarch? What does he want us to do? The Rangers have no other hope but to accept this agreement. Their presence is the only thing keeping some semblance of law in a post-nuclear Arizona. Without choice, they set off for Colorado.

Yet something is stirring in the colorful state. En route to meet The Patriarch in Colorado Springs, the Ranger unit is ambushed by raiders. This is where the new story begins. After the initial cutscene is viewed, you're prompted to select a pair of characters for the adventures ahead. Immediately, you're shown massive attention to detail as each pair of characters available has a backstory that adds to lore. There's a father-daughter team, pairs of star-crossed lovers, a partner of friends and more. Their backgrounds affect their play style and overall flavor when playing with them. They are excellent options for those that wish to role play more or would like characters with already-defined stats. Each pair also had their own job classes.

Players do get the option to create their own duo in a revamped character creator. New textures and cosmetics look incredibly detailed in comparison to previous Wastelands. It's a much-needed upgrade that helps modernize the long-running title. I decided on a balanced sister team in my customization. The icy Hellcat covers the medium range with high stats in assault rifles. She's also the medic and smooth talker of the group. Her sister Hellfox is a long-range support with her sniper rifle. The fox is also into some Sneak Sh*t (a category of skills) and knows how to pick a lock. My team was ready to go. Our mission was to take out the raiders ambushing us. Wasteland is traditionally an isometric title and this installment keeps to that format. We do, however, see much more detail on the playing field now than ever before. Colorado is far removed from the Rangers' Arizona desert. Gorgeous snow effects can be seen during play. Sound design is immersive as we hear the crunch of snow beneath our boots. It's literally and figuratively refreshing to change up the setting. This change also integral to expanding on the Wasteland universe's lore. These "hot-landers" are about to experience all new-enemies as well.

As we begin our mission, we encounter one of our surviving rangers held hostage by a raider. If you begin your playthrough with a high enough charisma stat, you will be able to talk the raider into letting her go without a fight. Saving Private Jodie Bell means she becomes a party member later. Even though the beta doesn't go as far as that point, I wanted to save her anyway. Saving her also means she alerts us to an ambush ahead. Being able to strategize before combat could mean victory for a difficult battle. We came out from our path onto some high-ground. This gave us a vantage spot where we could see most of the raiders below us. I decided to shoot an explosive barrel in the middle of them to create some AOE damage before the encounter. Wasteland makes use of elemental interactions during battle for some satisfying tactics. The exploding barrel immediately killed one raider and injured others. Turn-based combat gives us the opportunity to plan out moves, especially with new actions. Staples of the series, like half/full-cover, make a return. The precision strikes we knew from Wasteland 2 have been revamped to feature a more detailed targeting system. Not only is it functional, but it looks great too.

A much welcome addition of special weapon abilities have now been added as well. This is an action that will charge up over the course of the battle -- for good reason. It can be thought of as an ultimate attack that characters can make with their arsenal. I later added an NPC to my party that specialized in melee that could perform a shock-wave attack. These new additions to combat show that inXile saw opportunities for improvement. It also helps to further develop the isometric genre. Gameplay is no longer starting to feel like stiff pieces on a board. This Wasteland 3 promises depth in its play.

It also wouldn't be a Wasteland game without its wild brand of flavor. As we finished the first group of raiders, we continue our assault by getting to the top of their vantage point on the dam. We're greeted with a warm Colorado welcome with a greeting message painted in blood on the side of the dam. Wasteland continues in its roots of being dark, gritty and off-beat. A new cast of characters builds on that reputation in new cutscenes. As we approach the top of the dam, the raider leader Jarett Dorsey is there to greet us. Wasteland 3 offers new depth to NPCs through up-close and personal cutscenes. It continues to be a delight as we're able to see the mannerisms, expressions and dialogue that makes up each character. Things like the way a character moves are even baked into our special skills as we can select job-specific dialogue options that remark on a certain movement. There are tons of layers to these interactions and they're smartly written. Combat is great, but players will also get a major dose of flavor too.

While talking to Jarrett Dorsey, he loses his head and battle ensues. After the fray, our dying Commanding Officer gave us our orders to meet The Patriarch. We eventually learn that he asked us to come so that we can wrangle his psychotic kids from overthrowing him. She also mentioned some secret orders that had to do with Angela Deth -- a major repeating character in the franchise. While we thought Angela had died, she was actually leading a secret ghost mission. Her squad reported missing last the CO heard, so our priority was to find her. With her dying breath, our commander gave orders. We rendezvous with Private Bell that we had saved earlier. Jodie Bell had also told us to be on the lookout for Major Tom. What she failed to mention was that Major Tom was a cat. Honestly, he's pretty cute. He's got a little sheriff's hat on and a bandanna. I can't say I'm surprised, that's the brand of humor Wasteland is known for. And yes, you can pet Major Tom.

Wasteland 3 is gearing up to be a strong installment in the series. The title has been revamped from the ground up for a contemporary feel. While it's still very much a Wasteland game, it has new looks and gameplay to keep the title fresh. Character creation is more detailed than ever. Combat has been tweaked with new actions and skills for deeper tactics. Lore is expanded in a continuation that makes sense. It's all there just how we'd want it to be. The Beta build still had some bugs to work out, but the heart of Wasteland 3 looks promising.