Whenever you drive past a construction site in your nice warm car and see the workers stooped over in their hard hats and hi-viz vests in the pounding rain, you feel a pang of envy, don’t you?

No? Well prepare for that to change. Construction Simulator 2, the hotly anticipated sequel from German developer astragon Entertainment, makes the world of construction more entertaining than you ever imagined possible.

The game places you in the fictional American community of Westside Plains and tasks you with building a successful construction empire. You do this by laying asphalt, pouring concrete, building apartment blocks, mending things, transporting stuff, and much more.

You have access to a fleet of 36 licensed vehicles and machines to help you grow your empire, including a Caterpillar 745C dump truck, a Liebherr 81K tower crane, and even – yep, you guessed it – a Palfinger PK 27002 SH loading crane.

Plus, everything handles authentically, so if you’ve ever worked on a construction site you’ll start the game with a huge advantage!

You have the option of buying or leasing these vehicles. Managing your finances cannily allows you to expand your business, take on ever more lucrative jobs, and unlock new areas of Westside Plains. There are 60 jobs in all, ranging from simple gardening to rebuilding a railroad bridge.

Construction Simulator 2 is a beautiful-looking game, and sunny Westside Plains is going to be a great place to sink a few dozen hours when the game hits the App Store and Google Play for £4.99 / $4.99 later this week. [App Store] [Google Play]