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 with a style I feel like I haven'

      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 map itself is a pretty standard

      Wakka Wakka, welcome to first person Pac-man. This map was ripped from another mod called 'Boomario', look it up on moddb if you want. I don't know how the map works in the mod, but here players get crushed by Pac-man again and again until they escape. SCMapDB page Original mod author: Diz Conversion author: Pastacake Date of original map release: >2014 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Boomario Pacman (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 15, 2023 | 2151 characters      Boomario Pacman is a port of a man from a mod that I guess is called Boomario. It seems like it's meant to be a troll map for players to savescum in, or in this case, meander about with respawns until players solve it.      The premise is terrible and simple: navigate a confusing maze where every wall is the same color, full of respawning enemies including grunts, while the players are equipped only with melee weapons, as an invin

      Wakka Wakka, welcome to first person Pac-man. This map was ripped from another mod called 'Boomario', look it up on moddb if you want. I don't know how the map works in the mod, but here players get crushed by Pac-man again and again until they escape. SCMapDB page Original mod author: Diz Conversion author: Pastacake Date of original map release: >2014 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Boomario Pacman (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 15, 2023 | 1661 characters      Boomario is the name of a mod for Half-Life over on moddb and from the description I can guess that this is the origin of this map. Players are thrust into a Pac-Man game where zombies and human grunts, some reskinned to be Half-Life 2 Combine, litter the maze and respawn infinitely. A big yellow Pac-Mac ball roams the halls and splatters everything in it's path. I should also mention we are only equipped with a crowbar and wrench and t

       I don't see a lot of maps really use the barnacle to it's full potential, so I was very excited when I saw this map. Then I read the map description, it is abandoned because the author didn't think it was fun, oh well. SCMapDB page Author: TruckStopSantaClaus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barnacle Course (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | September 17, 2022 | 2768 characters      Barnacle Course is an unfinished obstacle course map based around the Barnacle. It was supposedly unfinished because the author did not believe the concept was proving to be fun.      The map is themed like the Half-Life Black Mesa Hazard Course, but with a bit more flare with their use of burning lava in their barnacle test course. Along there way there's some fleshy growths with sideways xen grass which is a lot of fun. None of it really adds up to a good feeling whole, but everything is fine as individual separates. Nothing in this map fee

      I don't see a lot of maps really use the barnacle to it's full potential, so I was very excited when I saw this map. Then I read the map description, it is abandoned because the author didn't think it was fun, oh well. SCMapDB page Author: TruckStopSantaClaus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barnacle Course (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 17, 2022 | 2818 characters      This map was abandoned due to the author not thinking it was very fun. That is not a very promising sign and after playing the map I have to agree.      The whole map is set up around the barnacle, pretty obvious from the name of the map. The map is pretty standard wide Black Mesa hallways with barnacle grapple points, the first 'puzzles' of the map are just barnacling to platforms in lava down a hallway. The most difficult parts are the vertical sections because if you barnacle straight up then chances are you will just fall straight down

       Azure Sheep is a Half-Life mod made a long time ago in 2001 with an 8.5 on moddb. It introduces new characters while also showing us old favorites with Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shepard, and the original Barney which is a bit hard to tell since pretty much every other NPC in the mod/map set is Barney. SCMapDB page Original map author: DAVLevels Conversion author: Chocolate IceCream Date of original mod release: 2001 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 45 Map review of Azure Sheep (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | September 8, 2022 | 5343 characters      Azure Sheep is a prolific Half-Life modification known for having a shitload of maps, decent visual quality, a few new actors, and a very fanficy alternative take on the Black Mesa incident from Barney's eyes.      Before Episode 1 introduced players to leading your NPC handgun toting wisecracking waifu through alien and military infested industrial and urban ruins, Azure Sheep introduced playe

      Azure Sheep is a Half-Life mod made a long time ago in 2001 with an 8.5 on moddb. It introduces new characters while also showing us old favorites with Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shepard, and the original Barney which is a bit hard to tell since pretty much every other NPC in the mod/map set is Barney. SCMapDB page Original map author: DAVLevels Conversion author: Chocolate IceCream Date of original mod release: 2001 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 45 Map review of Azure Sheep (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | September 8, 2022 | 5918 characters      Azure Sheep is a long mod converted for Sven Co-op. I did not expect it to be this bad. The almighty Hallway is a staple of any video game, but I feel like lately I've been playing a spate of Sven maps that are comprised mainly of hallways. Hallways are not interesting. Azure Sheep is about 90% hallways.      Azure Sheep has 45 maps in it. That's a lot of game for so little to actually see. T

       Artifact is a custom map converted to Sven from Team Fortress Classic. It's a hard as nails platforming map that has me questioning if there is an important change in player movement across games that makes the map harder than it should be. SCMapDB page Original map author: Kami Conversion authors: AdamR Date of original mod release: 2003 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Artifact (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | July 24, 2022 | 4815 characters      Artifact is a map that, much like the hidden temples in Indiana Jones, hides peril lurking beneath great beauty. The foliage, the textures for the stone reliefs, the models for the key objects, the waterfalls and giant trees- they all look fantastic. But within, trap brushes swiftly kill players and require hard jumps back to spawn and the backtracking that comes with that.      Let me just be up front: I didn't beat a single one of these puzzles wherein death was a threat

      Artifact is a custom map converted to Sven from Team Fortress Classic. It's a hard as nails platforming map that has me questioning if there is an important change in player movement across games that makes the map harder than it should be. SCMapDB page Original map author: Kami Conversion authors: AdamR Date of original mod release: 2003 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Artifact (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | July 24, 2022 | 8431 characters      I feel like every part of this map is engineered to be the most absolute bullshit. This is one of those maps where five minutes into playing it I look at the time limit, see that we have 70 minutes left, and think to myself "we're not going to beat this". My teammate and I used noclip the entire map, there was not one section that we did not cheat to get through. This map was originally made for Team Fortress Classic, I have to think to myself, is there some moveme

       Kani Gyosen is Japanese for "Crab fishing boat" and true to the title, in this map players will fish for crabs. Since this is based on Half-Life the crabs in question are all headcrabs. SCMapDB page Author: takedeppo.50cal Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Kani Gyosen (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 20, 2022 | 3006 characters      Kani Gyosen is another great chill map from takedeppo.50cal. This time the focus of the map is on capturing headcrabs at the bottom of the sea using spears and reeling lines. Over the course of five "days" the ocean becomes increasingly inhospitable, escalating the stakes with bullsquids, sharks, alien controllers, and eventually armed pirates and helicopters. To defend yourself, you are armed with a machinegun of some sort which can fire underwater. Throughout it all, however, never lose sight of catching crabs!      To catch crabs, players can jump from their boat into the water (

      Kani Gyosen is Japanese for "Crab fishing boat" and true to the title, in this map players will fish for crabs. Since this is based on Half-Life the crabs in question are all headcrabs. SCMapDB page Author: takedeppo.50cal Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Kani Gyosen (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 20, 2022 | 3971 characters      The idea behind this map is that players must spear fish for headcrabs and gather them all in a cage. The water is dangerous, sharks and bullsquids lurk around. Players have machineguns that work underwater and even have custom models for real world underwater machineguns. The crowbar replacement, the spear and the barnacle has a custom model and custom scripting as well. Although I don't think the barnacle has custom scripting, as the winch kept eating the headcrabs.      Players spawn on a cute little boat, the deck is dominated by a cage, this is where the headcrabs go. There is a small

       The author of this map appears to apologize for making each of his maps. I found this very interesting and I just had to experience BingusMaster's maps to see for myself. SCMapDB page Author: BingusMaster Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castle Map (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 16, 2022 | 2574 characters      I'd like to preface this review by saying that, in the description the author of this map seems to be apologizing for making a map. I hope they continue making maps, because I truly think that, as a beginner mapper, BingusMaster shows great potential.      Castle Map is a short action offensive map wherein players swiftly overthrow a castle. The castle comes complete with a moat which traps the player until they commit suicide, some weird flag or something to the side of the castle with a canopy tarp wrapped around it. Attacking that triggers a grunt ambush to teleport in, and opens the castle. As you progress

      The author of this map appears to apologize for making each of his maps. I found this very interesting and I just had to experience BingusMaster's maps to see for myself. SCMapDB page Author: BingusMaster Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Castle Map (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 16, 2022 | 3454 characters      When I read in the map description 'sorry for making another map' I just had to see what this map was all about. I played the author's only other (at the time that this was written) map on scmapdb Act of Bingus, the map description for that map promised it would be his last map. I've never played anything where the author was apologetic for making it up front like this.      The map starts off in front of a castle. The map design is very blocky and simplistic. The floor texture inside the castle does not look like it was made to be tiled, the whole thing was clearly a single texture repeated over and

       In the map description the author promises this is the last map he'll ever make. I don't know what the story behind that is, but I just had to experience it for myself. SCMapDB page Author: BingusMaster Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Act Of Bingus (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 16, 2021 | 2117 characters      Act of Bingus is a charming little arcadey map clearly made for a handful of gags that doesn't overstay its welcome. Two rival shops face one another. The players are given ludicrous weaponry right out the gate with very quickly respawning ammo for a great time. High HP enemies spawn in in waves to battle.      Two players running around hammering high HP enemies with SAWs containing way too much ammo is the most satisfying tedium can get, but tedious it does get before its short runtime is complete. Thanks in part to the overly simplistic arena layout, battling enemies never evolves past running back and

      In the map description the author promises this is the last map he'll ever make. I don't know what the story behind that is, but I just had to experience it for myself. SCMapDB page Author: BingusMaster Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Act Of Bingus (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 16, 2022 | 2988 characters      I don't know why, but I had high hopes going into this map. It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but I will say it was better than my teammate thought it was going to be.      Players start in front of the Bingus store. I don't really know what a bingus is, but apparently it is some sort of meme. That's the problem with meme maps, the ever shifting meme landscape pushed this map into comedic irrelevancy fast. It also references an ancient meme from before the word meme was pushed into pop culture, my teammate had to explain it to me before I slowly realized that I had experienced that meme when I wa

       There are a lot of really cool and interesting things done in this map that are not found in other maps like having an open world, player classes, and non-linear objectives. Some mechanics work better than others but it all comes together to make a truly unique map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Search N Destroy (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 8, 2022 | 6589 characters      Search n Destroy is an objective based control point map which takes place in a desert-y setting reminiscent of Counter Strike's Dust maps with Opposing Forces grunts as the main enemies. To complete the map the players must plant C4 on several enemy weapons caches, find weapons throughout the map and return them to the base, conquer and defend 4 control points, and finally defend the spawn base from an enemy attack. During the offense portion of this you must also contend with grunts being dropped off by respawning Osprey

      There are a lot of really cool and interesting things done in this map that are not found in other maps like having an open world, player classes, and non-linear objectives. Some mechanics work better than others but it all comes together to make a truly unique map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Search N Destroy (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 9, 2022 | 5763 characters      I like the idea of this map. Players start in a military base on the outskirts of a large middle eastern town. There are 6 piles of crates to destroy and four areas you have to capture. The gameplay is a scavenger hunt to find the objectives and also the four unlockable weapons.      When the map first starts out players spawn in a room with instructions and difficulty voting buttons. Any difficulty higher than the lowest has a cap on respawns and let me say I can not imagine playing this map without infinite respawns. There is

       747 is a Counter-Strike 1.6 map converted to Sven Co-op. The level design is untouched and is optimized for objective based team play with some HEV and weapons scattered around. SCMapDB page Original map authors: Leon Nieuwoudt and Stephen Superville Conversion author: Jmal Date of original map release: 1999 Date of final Sven Map release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of 747 (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | December 11, 2021 | 2333 characters      747 was originally a Counter-Strike map. I imagine, as a Counter-Strike map, this would be an incredibly tense experience. As a Sven Co-op deathmatch map it's got some pretty stilted gameplay. Let me explain.      The map is laid out as follows: the plane is the central area of gameplay, split between three floors. There's a cargo bay, a passenger floor, and a first class and cockpit floor. The passenger areas are separated, much like within a real airplane, with curtains which make it hard to see into t