Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      This map series has been cut short and abandoned due to a very unfortunate loss of files. What we have here are two maps of story build up, one map of gameplay, and one map with credits, all unpolished. SCMapDB page Author: Skals Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 4 Map review of Bad Day at Work (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 16, 2022 | 6206 characters      Unfortunately this series has not been completed. According to the description there was a much bigger plan in place that was canned due to losing important files, so now we get an unfinished and abandoned half a map series. Also this is my second time trying to write this review, I accidentally hit the back button when I was almost finished which means I lost my review. Ironic that I lost my review while trying to review a series abandoned due to file loss.      There are four maps in the set, the first map had no enemies, it was just to set the tone and gives players a moment to experien

       Let me just say right off the bat that this map has nothing to do with arcades. It's really just another Black Mesa map style-wise and a scavenger hunt gameplay-wise.  SCMapDB page Authors: Streamfox and RNG Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Arcad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 14, 2022 | 2976 characters      Arcad is a couple of maps by Streamfox and RNG. The first sees players fight their way through a military base lightly peppered with alien invaders, followed up by a pretty straightforward romp through an alien-infested bunker/engineering facility.      The first map struggles to form much of an identity outside of cargo holds and hallways. Most of the map felt samey, but featured fun (if easy) combat with lots of ammo and an ever-expanding arsenal. I think its most memorable bits are point-and-click reminiscent puzzles featuring finding parts to build explosives, repairing broken door engines, and driving forklifts thro

      Let me just say right off the bat that this map has nothing to do with arcades. It's really just another Black Mesa map style-wise and a scavenger hunt gameplay-wise.  SCMapDB page Authors: Streamfox and RNG Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Arcad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 14, 2022 | 4824 characters      On the surface Arcad looks like a very generic map that looks like Black Mesa. For the most part, that aesthetic pervades the whole first map but the second map is much more visually interesting. This leads to making the rooms all look the same, but objectives are well marked for the most part so players always know where to go, for the most part. There were definitely times where the means of progression was hard to find and led to a lot of jumping around and poking heads into dark corners.      The first map starts off looking pretty bland and stays that way the whole time. At first players will just plow forward but the

           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

       Ally starts players in a tent with a crowd of friendly grunts. It took me too long to figure out these grunts are the allies. SCMapDB page Author: yulo Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Ally (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 25, 2022 | 3756 characters      Ally is a map that doesn't look great, isn't made particularly well, and doesn't aspire to much. But it's fine. And I think it's fine.      The basic idea of Ally is that you start in a room full of allied grunts and progress down a series of chambers full of robogrunts. To proceed through each chamber, you must access a control room with the button to open the door to the next area, guarded by a Barnabus, next to a friendly robogrunt spawner. The map culminates in a big final battle with the robogrunts.      Ally's biggest strength is that it arms the players with M16s with underbarrel grenades and MP5s and gives the players lots of friendly NPCs to push

      Ally starts players in a tent with a crowd of friendly grunts. It took me too long to figure out these grunts are the allies. SCMapDB page Author: yulo Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Ally (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 25, 2022 | 3271 characters      Ally is a short map that starts players behind a wad of friendly soldiers that pits players against increasing swarms of robo grunts. The level consists of a spawn area and a hallway divided by a series of security doors opened in a separate room, at the end of the hallway is a wide open outdoor room with a final large swarm of robots.      The spawn area has an mp5 with two boxes of ammo and four underbarrel grenades with an M16. Ammo was scarce with two players, near the end my teammate had to go without any ammo because I took both boxes. As the last robo grunt fell he had one bullet left. The underbarrel grenades are the most useful for clearing out the resilient robo grunt cr

       Looking at the screenshots one can easily think this map is just a bad remake of the first Mario game. That is exactly what it is, a poor recreation of a side scrolling level in a first person shooter. SCMapDB page Author: Sultan William Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Adventure 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 5, 2022 | 2236 characters      Adventure is a map by Sultan William. At the time of writing this review his biography simply reads "Lulz." on this page.      Adventure is a remake of level 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. The players begin in a spawn room with lots of ammo for the pistol you'll have moving forward. The side-view world exists in a large, open skybox room which you can easily fall off the sides of and die. Goombas are replaced by headcrabs and turtles are replaced by zombies. Mushrooms and coins are replaced by nothing because they aren't there. There's ? blocks but they don't seem

      Looking at the screenshots one can easily think this map is just a bad remake of the first Mario game. That is exactly what it is, a poor recreation of a side scrolling level in a first person shooter. SCMapDB page Author: Sultan William Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Adventure 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 5, 2022 | 1704 characters      Adventure 1 is a bad remake of the first Mario level. Gordon can't jump as high as Mario so most of the platforms are unreachable without player stacks or cheats. Thankfully there is room to go around most of these obstacles, otherwise the pipes would block the players' paths and the map would be unwinnable. Watch out though, you can fall off the sides of the map and you will die. The enemies are annoying headcrabs. The map ends after players pass the flag.      There is the original Mario music in this map. It speeds up at one point, I thought that meant the map had a time limit

      4ways has four different ways for players to go. Each way has stuff to kill with a loose theme. It's a very simple concept. SCMapDB page Author: agrs700 Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of 4 Ways (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | December 4, 2021 | 1413 characters      4ways is an example of fairly minimalist level design which paints in broad strokes as it grasps at rooms full of combat, a massive restocking room where you spawn (why not just give the player the ammo and guns when you first spawn at skip the annoying ammo respawning sounds?), and half-baked ideas. That's not to say it's bad or even a poor execution of what I think it was attempting to- I think 4ways is perfectly comfortable in its simplistic broad strokes. It flexes when it wants to with a laser gimmick area and a fairly nifty hangout rave room. The rest of the map is corridors full of enemies in what are perfectly fine corridor arrangements.      Full disclo

    4ways has four different ways for players to go. Each way has stuff to kill with a loose theme. It's a very simple concept. SCMapDB page Author: agrs700 Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of 4 Ways (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | December 4, 2021 | 1430 characters      4ways is a map with four different things to do, and that is all.      There is a hallway full of enemies that ends in an apache battle, a large room that spawns in enemies that has a really cool iris door that leads to more enemies, a party room, and a room full of lasers that neither my teammates nor I wanted to really get into. I don't think the elements came together in a coherent way, the party room especially was out of place. That different rooms weren't all that particularly interesting, except that really cool iris door.      The only place we didn't explore was the strategy room, a room filled with lasers and pushable crates. My team decided to give u