Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      In this mod conversion we hunt down a button that will raise a bridge so we can cross some sort of divide, a crevasse if you will. The download includes the original mod and a 2.0 rework with massive visual changes but very little difference in gameplay. SCMapDB page Original map author: UrbaNebula Conversion author: Mikk Date of original mod release: 2020 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Bridge the Gap (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | May 21, 2023 | 3085 characters      Bridge the Gap and Bridge the Gap 2.0 are a couple of walkthrough maps which do the same thing in very different flavors. Bridge the Gap 2.0 is a fairly standard Black Mesa themed map, with many environments easily paralleled with chapters from Half-Life, giving it a homogenous and forgettable appearance though very nicely executed. The original, by comparison, looks like some really bizarre interesting N64 port...

      In this mod conversion we hunt down a button that will raise a bridge so we can cross some sort of divide, a crevasse if you will. The download includes the original mod and a 2.0 rework with massive visual changes but very little difference in gameplay. SCMapDB page Original map author: UrbaNebula Conversion author: Mikk Date of original mod release: 2020 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Bridge the Gap (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | May 21, 2023 | 4790 characters      We have two versions of the same level, the original and a 2.0 rework. The bsp files are differentiated via underscores but nowhere on the map page does it say which one is which. So let me tell you right now the one with the underscores is the 2.0 rework and I can tell by the motd that comes with it. We played the 2.0 rework seriously and then came back and quickly cheated through the original to compare the two. ...

      The 2k version of Bridge (both were made in 2001) is lengthier with a whole complex to be explored after the bridge section. It is much more in line with traditional walkthrough maps and has far less respawning enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bridge 2k (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 21, 2023 | 3420 characters      Bridge 2k is a sequel or reimagining of sorts of Bridge, which is a map that I think wasn't terribly good. Bridge 2k honors that by also not being terribly good, and I'll go into why I think that here.      Bridge 2k's design philosophy is thus: take an obtusely long path to a blocky, flatly lit chamber, and then become inundated with respawning grunts until you are no longer inundated by respawning grunts.      I've gone to great lengths to describe what I think is bad about fighting respawning grunts in this fashi...

      The 2k version of Bridge (both were made in 2001) is lengthier with a whole complex to be explored after the bridge section. It is much more in line with traditional walkthrough maps and has far less respawning enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bridge 2k (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 21, 2023 | 3166 characters      So I played Bridge which was a bridge with a bajillion respawning enemies and a paucity of ammo. The sequel/remake promised more, but did it deliver?      So my teammate spawns above, on top of the bridge, and I spawn under the bridge. This split up of spawn points really hampers any attempt we make at cooperating against the respawning grunts. While my teammate struggles with respawning human grunts and an apache up top I am throwing myself against about six turrets with respawning grunts below. It takes a while but I get the turrets...

      As the title suggests we fight a gargantua in this map. The level is very small and consists of only one small arena dotted with some obstacles and a couple of supplies. The garg respawns when killed and there is no end. SCMapDB page Author: Socrates Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Hunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 18, 2023 | 2741 characters      Garghunt is a classic map with a classic goal: hunt the garg.      But it is a ruse, you see! To hunt the garg, you must first earn the hunt! To do so, you must first be hunted! Players spawn with a pistol which is ineffectual against the titular garg. So, instead, players are encouraged to roam the map with the garg in hot pursuit as they find weapons which can put a dent in the beast. This generally comes in the form of satchel charges, RPG rockets, and the odd explosive crossbow bolt. All of these can be found on the battle...

      As the title suggests we fight a gargantua in this map. The level is very small and consists of only one small arena dotted with some obstacles and a couple of supplies. The garg respawns when killed and there is no end. SCMapDB page Author: Socrates Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Hunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 18, 2023 | 1335 characters      Fresh from the year 1999 we have a very simple arena map dedicated to fighting a single garg (at a time). This was an official map from the first version of Sven Co-op. It's light on the gameplay, very unpolished, and somewhat annoying to play.      We have a few weapons scattered around the arena like a revolver, mp5, gauss gun, satchel charges, and a rocket launcher on a ledge next to a bullsquid. Rush the rocket launcher and then the garg is easy to take down, map over. But it is an arena horde map so the garg just comes back f...

    The map is a bridge covered in turrets and infinitely repsawning human grunts. There is a target at the far end we have to shoot in order to end the map. That's about it for the map description. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bridge (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 18, 2023 | 4227 characters      Bridge follows the same simple conventions which gave us the Icon of Sin bossfight in Doom 2 back in the '90s: make a target you must shoot at an inconvenient angle, and guard that angle with infinitely respawning enemies. Ladies and gentlemen: Bridge.      The Bridge features a high road and a low road: both are inundated by turrets and respawning grunts. The low road has some unobvious routes to the higher route, but offers many more advantageous points from which players can deftly remove the turrets from the equation (the only enemies which do not respawn). The...

      The map is a bridge covered in turrets and infinitely repsawning human grunts. There is a target at the far end we have to shoot in order to end the map. That's about it for the map description. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bridge (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 18, 2023 | 3065 characters      The goal of Bridge is to cross the bridge. A whole swarm of human grunts, a plethora of turrets both sentry and ceiling mounted, and an apache stand in our way and all but the turrets respawn endlessly. Players have a shotgun and mp5 in addition to standard crowbar, glock, and medkit. It's a simple concept that I spent about 30 seconds in before deciding it sucked and turning cheats on.      I first spawn in and I am getting shot. The map has an upper part where we cross the top of the bridge and a lower part where we can climb up some rocks to the other side. E...

      This map is characterized by l ong twisty hallways filled with swarms of enemies that have high amounts of health. The gameplay is straightforward but takes forever to get through. SCMapDB page Author: Agent Zero the Koraa Hunter Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakdown Heist (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 15, 2023 | 5662 characters      Breakdown Heist is a walkthrough map for Sven Co-op that really encapsulates the feeling of a battle of attrition. Enemies with tons of health bottleneck players in co-op unfriendly hallways while respawning repeatedly after the entire squad is taken down. The end result is a map that looks semi-decent, occasionally has satisfying moments of hammering enemies together with players, but is otherwise overstuffed with the monotony of dumping ammo into evergreen supplies of enemy forces. They barely flinch as bullets wash over them like water. It's bad enough ...

      This map is characterized by l ong twisty hallways filled with swarms of enemies that have high amounts of health. The gameplay is straightforward but takes forever to get through. SCMapDB page Author: Agent Zero the Koraa Hunter Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakdown Heist (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 15, 2023 | 4315 characters      I was a bit nervous to play this map because some of the comments mentioned a lot of enemies with tons of health and lack of ammo. That does not sound like a fun combination. Well, having played the map I can tell you that this map is a slog against tons of enemies with high health.      We start in a hallway with basically enough HEV and armor to equip one player. The first obstacle is a hallway with a dip and sandbags protecting female assassins at the end. We snipe them dead and jump over the sandbags, only to be sandbagged ourselves by a ver...

      The extended version of Breakout, which can be found on the same page as this map on the database, feels more like a revised and finished version. It's a lot of standard looking Black Mesa architecture with tons of buttons to open doors and spawn monsters.  SCMapDB page Author: Chris Silcock Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakout Extended (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 13, 2023 | 3211 characters      Breakout Extended is a linear walkthrough map for Sven Co-op. Blast your way through default-flavored corridors and enemies. Spend most of the map with boilerplate weapons, and occasionally keep them between checkpoints! Fight all sorts of infantry-style enemies across the Earth military, Xenians, and Race X.      The combat is mostly corridor shooting which can easily feel bland. What keeps things interesting most of the time is small details in the visuals and cycling th...

      The extended version of Breakout, which can be found on the same page as this map on the database, feels more like a revised and finished version. It's a lot of standard looking Black Mesa architecture with tons of buttons to open doors and spawn monsters.  SCMapDB page Author: Chris Silcock Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakout Extended (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 13, 2023 | 4766 characters      So this is the extended version of Breakout, which is also available for download on the Breakout Extended page but doesn't have it's own page. We didn't realize we could play the original until right before writing our reviews so we just noclipped through it to see the difference. The difference is a whole new section, almost half the map added after the dead end in the original. We didn't play for realsies but we did try to end the map to no avail, so I'm guessing this is more like a fin...

    Breaking the tradition of the previous two entries, number three ditches the elevator and goes for a straight up platforming map. Visit beautiful Wing Fortress from Sonic 2 and confront Eggman inside. SCMapDB page Author:Beather Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakfree 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 30, 2023 | 3066 characters      Breakfree is the third and, afaik, final chapter of the Breakfrees by Beather. You wouldn't think so without the map name, as aside from the Sonic reference there isn't much connecting it to the previous maps and their elevator gimmick. This is probably for the best, as it means this is the most playable of the breakfrees years later.      If you've played Wing Fortress Zone, the penultimate zone of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis/Mastersystem, you know what much of this will be. High winds blowing you around, fans that you hover above, bottomle...

      Breaking the tradition of the previous two entries, number three ditches the elevator and goes for a straight up platforming map. Visit beautiful Wing Fortress from Sonic 2 and confront Eggman inside. SCMapDB page Author:Beather Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakfree 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 30, 2023 | 3430 characters      Breakfree 3 is the third and final map in the series, this time instead of going up an elevator shaft like the first two we get to platform over a big airship. My teammate told me the level is based on Wing Fortress and then showed me a video of the level and I can agree that this is indeed a recreation of a Sonic 2 level.      We start in a room with a minute long timer before the map starts. There are things that look like buttons here but these are lies and do nothing. When the minute is up we get teleported onto a plane, well my teammate made i...

    Explore a massive bedroom and office and find a bunch of secrets. Players get lots of weapons and low gravity to make navigation much easier.  SCMapDB page Author: Fourth Letter Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of DBJR (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 30, 2023 | 2719 characters      DBJR is a rats map which takes place inside of a bedroom and an inconsistently proportioned hoarder's office. There are a handful of silly little secrets and a room wherein players can spawn waves of enemies to fight in the main bedroom. The description said these waves happen periodically, but in many dozens of minutes playing we never saw this happen outside of our direct involvement.      The visuals of the map itself are a treat. There's a really cute textured brush for the outside perspective instead of a skybox. There's the obligatory computer running hammer working on the map itself. There's a be...

      Explore a massive bedroom and office and find a bunch of secrets. Players get lots of weapons and low gravity to make navigation much easier.  SCMapDB page Author: Fourth Letter Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of DBJR (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 30, 2023 | 4136 characters      I'm a big fan of rats maps, maps where the map is so big the players feel like they are very small. This rats map has the gravity turned down low and longjump given to players on map start, so it's pretty easy to get around.      We start off in a big room and begin to explore. I guess I am just naturally suicidal because the first place I checked out was the fan cord plugged into an outlet, which will gib players if they get near it. Right next to that is a teleporter to the top of a computer from where we can survey the room. A paper airplane makes loops in mid-air, the long jump really helps in g...

      Fight a neverending horde of enemies in a small city block. The slice of city is very simple with nothing much else to see, although the tallest building is almost entirely destructible and will fall apart. SCMapDB page Author: Killer99 Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 29, 2023 | 2198 characters      City is a horde map wherein soldiers and xenian military (vortigaunts and alien grunts, specifically) are teleported onto a small block with one destroyed building full of soldiers, one strangely shaped building with a sideways vending machine in front of it full of aliens, one near-fully destructible building with lots of soldiers, and one tall building that vortigaunts are always on top of.      Players are given a few boilerplate weapons to deal with this, but most notable get grenades and a tau gun. Their power really helps prevent any of ...

      Fight a neverending horde of enemies in a small city block. The slice of city is very simple with nothing much else to see, although the tallest building is almost entirely destructible and will fall apart. SCMapDB page Author: Killer99 Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of City (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 29, 2023 | 2674 characters      City is a fairly standard arena horde map, this time based on a simple city street. We have some multi-story buildings scaled way down to be simple boxes with only enough room for windows and stairs. Vortigaunts spawn in clumps staggered with clumps of alien grunts and human grunts, who do shoot each other when they spawn in together. The weapon selection isn't bad but it is very medium. We get an mp5, shotgun, crossbow, gauss gun, grenades, and a single satchel charge in addition to the standard pistol, medkit, crowbar.      The moment the map st...

      The sequel to Breakfree is more of the same. We don't have to go back down the elevator and there is now a boss fight! Unfortunately the biggest obstacle is still the elevator mechanic itself. SCMapDB page Author: Beather Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakfree 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 29, 2023 | 2270 characters      Breakfree 2 is the sequel to Breakfree. Visually, it is a huge upgrade with liberal use of Sonic 2 textures and an Eggman model for the scientist to match the Sonic 2 music. The music is the exact same.      This time around the map is split into two parts: the annoying elevator part, and the annoying boss part. The annoying elevator part is somehow more annoying than the previous map, offering large brushes that shoot from out of unpredictable places in the wall at a faster speed than players can dodge. There are also similar grinders and rotating br...

      The sequel to Breakfree is more of the same. We don't have to go back down the elevator and there is now a boss fight! Unfortunately the biggest obstacle is still the elevator mechanic itself. SCMapDB page Author: Beather Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Breakfree 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 29, 2023 | 3293 characters      I'm getting something of a crisis of conscience with the Breakfree series. I just played Break Go, which was inspired by this series, and gave it a higher score than the original based solely on how much I exploded on the elevator. Elevators in Sven Co-op are very dangerous and throughout this map we were constantly exploding for no reason.      So I'm going to try to judge this map without taking into account how many times I was randomly killed by the floor. We start off and the map is fullbright, just like the first one. We hit a button that is hard to ...

      Inspired by the very similar Breakfree 1 and 2, in this map players ride an elevator up through some deadly obstacles. Elevators in Sven Co-op are prone to killing players so only the luckiest folks will make it to the end. SCMapDB page Author: Zorak Date of release: 2009 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Break GO: Game Over (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 29, 2023 | 2424 characters      Break-Go: Game Over is a map inspired by Breakfree. I would characterize it almost like a fanmap, for how much of Breakfree's gimmick it apes. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does feel pertinent to point out as it very succinctly characterizes this map.      Much like Breakfree, Break-Go features a floating loser pool which players respawn in and which moves parallel to the main gameplay elevator. The elevator houses the players, goes up, and stops at the top where players can kill a scientist a...