Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      The point of this map is to drive an APC through a linear map blowing up obstacles and enemies along the way. The map certainly looks rough and the vehicles in Sven are very deadly to the occupants, but the map still delivers a fun experience. SCMapDB page Author: JJ45 Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of APC Rally (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 4599 characters      APC Rally is an older walkthrough action map. At a glance, the map looks pretty hastily brushed together and lit for an outdoor canyon, but the gameplay at front and center shines through.      The conceit of APC Rally is that players maneuver a large drivable APC through obstacles, intermittently abandoning it to complete an objective which clears up a roadblock. Func_vehicles are notoriously chunky and easily kill players, but APC Rally designs around this by making the map about absurd action and weapons. While playing, my teammate said something along the

      The point of this map is to drive an APC through a linear map blowing up obstacles and enemies along the way. The map certainly looks rough and the vehicles in Sven are very deadly to the occupants, but the map still delivers a fun experience. SCMapDB page Author: JJ45 Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of APC Rally (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 4927 characters      APC Rally is a map about riding an APC through enemies in crazy fun combat. The map description sold me on the idea and I was excited to play. The map is pretty old and it can be pretty rough at times, but I think it did manage to deliver on its promise. The combat is exactly the kind of stuff I remember seeing in Sven maps back in the day, dense high health enemies that players chew through using tons of weapons.      The first thing that needs to be addressed is the APC. Yes, there is a drivable APC that needs to be driven through obstacles to unlock the way

       There are quite a few maps centered around the gargantua, this particular map has tons of enemies in it yet the gargantua gets all the credit. Players go through teleporters and end up in a big room full of enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg House (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 2320 characters      Garghouse2k is an endless combat map starring a garg, a warehouse (technically a house), an escalating series of events which makes combat more and more complex and intense. First you have a garg running around, then you have bullsquids, then the HECU invade, and then vortigaunts and alien grunts join in the fray- needless to say, things get pretty crazy.      Players spawn in a separated balcony where they can lord over the battle with mutual impunity. However, after jogging through a teleporter the players are thrust into the action on the ground level with the garg. All around the

       There are quite a few maps centered around the gargantua, this particular map has tons of enemies in it yet the gargantua gets all the credit. Players go through teleporters and end up in a big room full of enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg House (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 3744 characters      Garg House is a horde arena map where players are dumped into an arena filled with respawning aliens, not just the gargantua, and eventually human soldiers as well. The map descript says you go into battle 'well stocked' but that is a lie, the biggest problem in the map was trying to get explosives to take down the gargs.      The map layout is a large simple room. The spawn area is a fenced off section on one side of the room above the chaos, allowing players to see what they are getting themselves into. Each end of the room has a teleporter into the arena with no way to get

       Apache Battle 3 is the third and final part (remake?) or the Apache Battle series. This version boasts a canyon, multi-story spawn area, and a turret that is actually useful. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 3067 characters      Apache Battle 3 is the third in an unnecessarily long line of maps which repeatedly ask the question: is fighting a seemingly neverending onslaught of apaches with clunky mounted turrets while woefully underequipped fun? I say unnecessarily long line because it seems each map comes to the same answer: eh, not particularly.      Like the previous maps, Apache Battle starts with the players in a base where they can grant themselves some limited equipment and stock up on HEV before facing the apache hell which awaits outside. This map has the most interesting take on the spawn base, though, as instead of being a real

      Apache Battle 3 is the third and final part (remake?) or the Apache Battle series. This version boasts a canyon, multi-story spawn area, and a turret that is actually useful. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 2349 characters      The Apache Battle maps are the same concept, killing respawning apache helicopters in an arena. The arena is somewhat similar between maps with this version having the most complex arena. There is a chasm in the middle, a narrow intact bridge and a broken wide bridge are the only ways across. On the other side is a platform with a missile turret on it, this is almost mandatory to have any chance against the apache.      The spawn area has been expanded but still has pretty much the same supplies as the first two maps, grenades, shotguns and shells, and HEV. The HEV is immensely useful but the shotgun is no help agai

       Only Fun contains zombies and a Big Momma and has little, if any, fun. The spawn points are also placed poorly causing players to die on spawn quite a lot. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Only Fun (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 2011 characters      Only Fun is a quintessentially Robootto Robootto map. It hits all of the hallmarks: it's not fun, when you realize what the gimmick is you question whether Robootto legitimately hates the players, it's painfully ugly to look at, and the overall feeling when you're done is that you have wasted your precious time which can never ever be returned.      Players begin in a chamber which connects to a winding same-textured corridor maze full of Barneys. At the opposite end of this corridor is the secondary spawnpoint, which supplies players with tripmines and a gauss rifle. Back at the other chamber, breaking the floor drops the player

      Only Fun contains zombies and a Big Momma and has little, if any, fun. The spawn points are also placed poorly causing players to die on spawn quite a lot. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Only Fun (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 2002 characters      Only Fun promises much, but delivers little.      There are three spawn areas in the map. At first my teammate and I both spawned in the top one, there was no indication on how to get out so we ran around hitting everything with our crowbars. Eventually the floor gave out and we fell to the level below, which happens to be where our second spawn point was. Here was a doorway to a green room with many headcrab zombies and a gonarch. The only weapons in the level are at the third spawn point, which is far above the elevator past a twisting passageway full of passive Barneys. The end of this hallway terminates at the top of the room the other two

      Apache Battle 2 is a slightly improved version of Apache Battle. The arena has been revamped, there are weapons now that still aren't very useful, and the helicopters don't respawn forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 1688 characters      Apache Battle 2 is like Apache Battle 1, but with a few seemingly minor changes that make a lot of difference.      The map revolves around battling apaches using meager ammo, prompting mad sprints across a mostly coverless battlefield to a huge mounted gun to target the apaches. All the while, grunts harass with grenades and superior firepower.      This differs from the previous map by giving the player grenades, shotguns, a teleporter to a useless ridge that they must jump off of, and better HEV chargers than last time. This buys it some points, but I think the HEV is largely wasted on the

      Apache Battle 2 is a slightly improved version of Apache Battle. The arena has been revamped, there are weapons now that still aren't very useful, and the helicopters don't respawn forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 2446 characters      I played Apache Battle right before playing this one and I thought it was terrible. The sequel was an official map way back in the Sven Co-op 1.3 release so I thought it would be much improved. Instead, it has only marginally improved.      My major complaint about the first map is the lack of weapons to deal with the threats, this is a trend that continues in the officially released sequel. There are grenades in the spawn area, a shotgun on the roof and in full view of the eponymous Apache, and some HEV chargers on the wall in addition to the HEV batteries. There is one box of shotgun shells

       Apache Battle is an arena map where players are expected to take down an Apache Helicopter. There is nothing else to the map, take down the helicopter and another appears, forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 1978 characters      Apache Battle is one of those earliest maps that remind you that there was a point in time where every aspect of Half-Life was extremely novel. Players spawn in a room which gives basic equipment. If there's meant to be some extra weaponry given, it no longer is. The player gets a pistol clip and is jutted into the a world of respawning grunts and apaches. The goal seems to be to run across the battlefield using sheer numbers and the trickle-fed HEV batteries to survive gunfire from the apaches to reach a large mounted gun which is then used by the players to engage the apaches in a game of attrition. Whom

      Apache Battle is an arena map where players are expected to take down an Apache Helicopter.  There is nothing else to the map, take down the helicopter and another appears, forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 1798 characters      This map is an arena map where players fight Apache helicopters. This is not an uncommon idea but this particular execution felt incredibly lacking. I don't know if there is a missing .cfg file or if the original mapper intended for the players to only have the pistol to defend ourselves, but it sucked.      The map layout is simple, players start in a room with enough HEV batteries to fill up one player, good luck to everybody else. There are some unbreakable boxes in a corner and a ladder up to the roof and an even higher point with nothing on it and no cover. Two doors on buttons lead outside. Outside is

       This map is a remake of the first level of the classic FPS Wolfenstein 3D built as a map in Sven Co-op. The level layout itself is mostly accurate with only tiny details added but the enemy composition and weapons is all standard Half-Life stuff. SCMapDB page Author: $kud Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Wolfenstein 3D Level 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 17, 2022 | 2605 characters      Wolf3dlvl1 is a remake of the groundbreaking E1M1 of Wolfenstein 3D, also known as Level 1. E1M1 of Wolf3d was the first experience many had in 1992 of 256-color first-person gameplay with characters resembling humans- and we blew their nazi brains out.      Wolf3dlvl1 takes Wolfenstein 3D's mechanics and massages them to create a more enjoyable experience when the level is transitioned into Sven Co-op. For example: there are more enemies now, and those enemies are far more capable than the brownshirts originally featured in Wolfenstein 3

      This map is a remake of the first level of the classic FPS Wolfenstein 3D built as a map in Sven Co-op. The level layout itself is mostly accurate with only tiny details added but the enemy composition and weapons is all standard Half-Life stuff. SCMapDB page Author: $kud Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Wolfenstein 3D Level 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 17, 2022 | 1823 characters      Wolfenstein 3D is an old game, one of the first FPS games ever made. The first level is iconic to many gamers and its done pretty well here. There are some obvious differences like the HECU not acting at all like the standard brown shirts, difference in weapons, and there are some additional rooms added behind the cell door walls, usually with goodies.      Personally I've seen a lot of Wolf3D's first level so I don't have much to say about the level design. I will say I always thought the original Wolf3D's level design was pret

       This is a one room map with infinitely spawning enemies coming down a slope. Really, never has a map screenshot encapsulated an entire gameplay experience more than the above. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Spynzlersplatter (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 17, 2022 | 1339 characters      Spynzlersplatter is a robootto map wherein players hunt respawning bullsquids, zombies, and headcrabs in the same sense that bowlers hunt bowling pins. The enemies appear on alcoves above a large inclined plane which they slide down if they leave their alcove (which they often do). Sliding down drops them into a hurt brush that'll kill them (or the player) dead. The players are given grenades to have fun with.      If you're into slaughter maps, maybe this will seem great to you. I think the enemies falling into an invisible hurt box and the player having so few choices for killing them really hurts its ef

      This is a one room map with infinitely spawning enemies coming down a slope. Really, never has a map screenshot encapsulated an entire gameplay experience more than the above. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Spynzlersplatter (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 17, 2022 | 1709 characters      This map consists of a spawn area with a couple miniguns and three piles of grenades and on the other side of an instant kill wall is a steep slope with enemy spawners at the top. This is not enough for more than two players to massacre these monsters at once. The monster spawners drop a bullsquid and a zombie along with a ton of headcrabs. It is a little more difficult to hit the headcrabs with the minigun, but the slop stops grenades in their tracks and it is fun and easy to explode all the monsters. The map description says the wall will kill most of the monsters and it does, only one headcrab managed to get thro

       Nuclear Poison is a small map made by the infamous mapper Roboootto. Players spawn at the top of a shaft and fall through a green goo teleport and either hit the tiny patch of water at the bottom or die and explode on impact with the floor. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Nuclear Poison (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 17, 2022 | 1487 characters      Nuclear Poison is a map by Robootto that is very much a map by Robootto. It features large letters made out of brushes which players can awkwardly attempt to navigate around on, a spawn which is immediately hostile to the player, a fall relying on obscure water tricks to survive, and then a battle with two overpowered zombies at the bottom of it all. The rest of the map is just a large shaft lit with brightly colored ambiguous light sources. The intended fun is supposed to be in landing on the zombies to deal enough damage to kill them, or landing in t

      Nuclear Poison is a small map made by the infamous mapper Roboootto. Players spawn at the top of a shaft and fall through a green goo teleport and either hit the tiny patch of water at the bottom or die and explode on impact with the floor. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Nuclear Poison (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 17, 2022 | 1817 characters      Players spawn at the top of a tall dark shaft, at the bottom is green goo that teleports players to an adjacent shaft that is green and has the word 'nuclear' spelled out vertically in huge letters. While falling down the green shaft players can angle themselves to land on the letters in 'nuclear', some of parts of some letters have grenades. The bottom of the shaft is a sure death unless you can angle towards a tiny square of water in one corner.      The only real gameplay in this map consists of trying to survive the fall from spawn an

      ApacheCo is a symmetrical map with two sides, a day side and a night side. Each side has its own Apache and the map will end and declare that one side is the winner once one of the Apaches go down. This gimmick would work better if the map had weapons. SCMapDB page Author: Fourth Letter Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of ApacheCo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 17, 2022 | 1846 characters      Apacheco is a Sven Co-op map that's as gimmicky as they come. Players enter the arena through one of two portals, choosing a team- night or day. In each, they meet with friendly Barneys and attempt to push through waves of grunts using only pistols with a clip's worth of ammo. If they manage to push through, they get to an arena that is in either night time or day time, and face an apache helicopter with way too much health for how no weapons everybody has. Eventually one of the helicopters is destroyed and the "day" or &quo

      ApacheCo is a symmetrical map with two sides, a day side and a night side. Each side has its own Apache and the map will end and declare that one side is the winner once one of the Apaches go down. This gimmick would work better if the map had weapons. SCMapDB page Author: Fourth Letter Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of ApacheCo (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 17, 2022 | 4129 characters      ApacheCo is your standard "kill the apache" fare found in most maps with 'apache' in their name, but this one has some twists. The first twist is that the map has two sides to it, a daytime section and a nighttime section. The other twists are that there are no weapons, there are swarms of respawning human grunts, and the outside area has a ton of other enemies running around. It's hard to do much of anything.      When I appeared in the spawn room I first noticed the detail in making the reflective floor (the room copied

       Dock Battle is a very early map with a very common gameplay type of the era, neverending swarms of enemies. Unlike similar maps this one does not have a safe place for players to spawn. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dock Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 16, 2022 | 3363 characters      Dock Battle is a horde style map that is shaped like two boats and a dock, and features an unmanned mounted gun that constantly fires on players. I had wondered if I need to go up and confront it, and felt this suspicion confirmed with the discovery of a gauss gun. The gauss gun jump is disabled, however, so our plan fell short. Indeed, this is a map about being shot by never-ending enemies.      The map, as mentioned previously, is shaped like two boats and a dock, which was likely very novel in 1999 when this map came out. Honestly, even in the year 2022, the concept of battling on multiple boats feels ho

      Dock Battle is a very early map with a very common gameplay type of the era, neverending swarms of enemies. Unlike similar maps this one does not have a safe place for players to spawn. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Dock Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 16, 2022 | 4601 characters      Dock Battle is a map with a simple blocky dock jam packed full of enemies. Both humans and aliens constantly respawn all over the place fighting each other but also not forgetting to attack the players as well. When the map first started I was standing in full view of an mounted gun which started shredding me with the motd still up. The map description says something like the map could be played with your eyes closed, when the gameplay is neverending chaos and combat then yeah I guess you can totally play with your eyes closed.      The map doesn't start off well, getting immediately attacked before you c

           On first glance Sector E is another bland retread of Black Mesa, but on actually playing it it feels much different. The map looks great, plays well, and includes small details that make it stand out from the plethora of Black Mesa themed maps. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Sector E (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 16, 2022 | 4535 characters      To be perfectly honest when I saw Sector E I groaned, it was yet another Black Mesa themed map. But right on map start it had a different quality about it. I've played a few of this author's, Keen's, other maps and he definitely has a habit of stuffing many details into his maps, Sector E is no exception.      Sector E drops players into Black Mesa with a very vague and uninspired storyline, you are part of a military force going into Black Mesa and extracting Gordon Freeman for some reason. The other military forces do not know about your mis

         On first glance Sector E is another bland retread of Black Mesa, but on actually playing it it feels much different. The map looks great, plays well, and includes small details that make it stand out from the plethora of Black Mesa themed maps. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Sector E (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 16, 2022 | 3642 characters      Sector E is a large walkthrough series of maps by prolific Sven Co-op mapper Keen. It follows the Black Mesa theme, though does interesting things with it throughout. Each map is decently lengthy and packed full of action.      That's first thing I want to talk about: the action. I feel like Sector E manages multi-faction monster battles better than any other Sven map I've played up to this point. Sector E manages battles cinematically, while still making them feel natural and dropping the player into the middle of massive firefights while giving t

       Neptune Labs is a map set in space orbiting Neptune, not under the ocean as the blue tint may imply. The map is unfinished and abandoned but has been updated to end properly and give the full walkthrough map experience, even if it is somewhat short. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Neptune Labs (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 15, 2022 | 3602 characters      Neptune Labs is a medium-length walkthrough map by prolific mapper Keen. It showcases a lot of creativity, a decent amount of ingenuity, and an overall enjoyable experience.      The most striking and charming aspect of the map is its art style. Details are brushed in very interesting and uncommon ways, and the textures are made with this semi-abstract cartoony style that's hard to explain but really evokes a certain atmosphere. It passively oozes personality up the wazoo, in technical terms. The brushwork for the outside of the Neptune lap is a