Do you miss the classic building strategy in the ancient world like Caesar or Pharaoh? Then you should take a closer look at Nebuchadnezzar - because here city building and logistics management meet in ancient Mesopotamia.
Nebuchadnezzar is an extremely suitable character for building strategy between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - after all, fascinating buildings such as the shining blue Ishtar Gate, one of Babylon's famous city gates, were built under his rule in the 6th century BC.
Those who are familiar with classics like Caesar or Pharaoh will quickly find their way around city building in Mesopotamia: from an isometric perspective and in an atmospheric 2D setting, build houses, processing plants, warehouses, and service buildings, supply inhabitants with goods to increase the level of their dwellings, trade with neighboring empires and later erect large temples and monuments to increase your prestige.
But Nebuchadnezzar is essentially more of a logistics manager than a city-building simulator. Because of the numerous goods, from bread and goat's milk to dates and religious statuettes, which are necessary for three population types from simple farmers to aristocrats in up to four levels, I have to plan every single route from production to delivery.
The buildings are really big, though - and space is the final boss in Nebuchadnezzar. The campaign maps are designed to be tight on purpose, and since not every building can be built on every surface, a lot of effort must be put into watering, rebuilding, and keeping clear to be able to build all the production chains.
In later missions, almost the entire map is built up at the end, after large-scale restructuring was often necessary beforehand. At least: to be fair, there is always a money back when buildings are demolished, so you are not suddenly broke just because a quarter is in the wrong place.
Conclusion
Nebuchadnezzar is a successful building strategy game with a classic look and an interesting management approach. Nepos Games convinces with complex goods management, well interlocking systems, and a lot of attention to detail. The game does have a slight bias towards the small details of transport and storage and thus loses some of the focus on the typical city construction. But at least you set your accents and can have unique selling points compared to the other games. Nebuchadnezzar is a merciless time-eater even in its currently still modest campaign scope, which with the endless game, scenarios, and a map editor will probably still allow dozens of hours of tinkering in ancient Mesopotamia.
