The first ever gameplay from inXile's upcoming party-based RPG Wasteland 3 was revealed today during Microsoft's big X019 livestream. The video showcased the snowy environs of Colorado, where a team of Desert Rangers has gone in search of one of their own, and also served up a release date of May 19.
Colorado is a far cry from the desert terrain of the previous game, but the gameplay remains essentially the same: A party of six characters struggles to establish and maintain order in a world that's been shattered by nuclear war. It's an old-school style of RPG, but the previous game was excellent and I have high hopes for this one. You don't need to have played that one to dive into Wasteland 3, however, as InXile CEO Brian Fargo said during the show that the new game is entirely self-contained.
I'm a little surprised that Microsoft would end its big show with Wasteland 3, which isn't exactly a typical Xbox game, but the trailer looks great, and putting it up as the closer has to be seen as a big vote of confidence from Microsoft. Wasteland 3 is available for pre-purchase now on Steam.