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Showing posts with the label 4/10

Building Jumper - GrandmasterJ

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      This map is presented as a platforming map but it actually has quite a bit of combat. The buildings themselves are large and mostly empty boxes with some filled to the brim with a tidal wave of enemies. SCMapDB page Author: HelloTimber Date of release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Building Jumper (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 29, 2023 | 3290 characters      This map really seemed like a straight up platforming map but there was a lot of action in it as well. I thought it was a neat approach to the whole platforming game type. It is such a shame that this map was frequently more annoying than fun.      So we start in a room with a some friendly NPCs and the moment we walk into the next room we are assaulted by unarmed male assassins who spin kick us silly. We only have medkits so we run past them up a steep and lengthy spiral rampcase to the top of the tower where we have to jump to anothe...

Build Puzzle - GrandmasterJ

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      The map title is a misnomer, there is nothing to build and the puzzles are all platforming challenges. There are 12 challenges in total and all are easily accessible from the spawn room. SCMapDB page Author: Ice Box Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Build Puzzle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 28, 2023 | 4521 characters      I don't know why this map has 'Build' in the title, I was expecting some sort of building mechanic and I was excited to see how that played out. Unfortunately the map is a series of ultra hard platforming sections. I'm always a little nervous reviewing these kinds of maps because I am very bad at them and I don't want my personal failings to reflect on the map. But I played for a half hour with zero progress made and when I started cheating I discovered a lot of really annoying gimmicks.      So the map itself is a big grey hallway with 12 doorways each wi...

Breakdown Heist - GrandmasterJ

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      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...

Boss Test (Team) - GrandmasterJ

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      The stated goal of this map is to test the team strength of the players. This is done by putting a monster with a lot of health in a big box and then having players shoot them repeatedly. SCMapDB page Author: TheAmateur Date of release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Boss Test (Team) (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 17, 2023 | 4547 characters      This map is made just to test 'team strength' if the map description is accurate. The very first boss to test our team strength was a gargantua stuck behind not one, but two tiny ledges which made him easy prey for us. Seriously, the map loads us up on rpgs right before this, we are sitting on a pile of ammo shooting a gargantua outside of its range. My teammate said something along the lines of "what a test for our team".      I guess I should back up and talk about the weak class system. Players spawn in a room with a scientist and an HEV suit behind...

Boomario Pacman - GrandmasterJ

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      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 crowba...

Gundam City - Dunkelschwamm

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      Fight a tiny city, then fight robots in the tiny city. The map is small, practically a box, and sized to make players feel huge. SCMapDB page Author: Lymphoid Date of release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Gundam City (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 18, 2023 | 2394 characters      Gundam is a map for Sven Co-op which takes place in a destructible "city" made of gridded boxes in a big rockwall-surrounded area. A UFO drops infinite baby headcrabs, and after some time a squad of robogrunts attack and need some killing. Destroying one of the buildings yields a shotgun and MP5, which are crucial for surviving the robogrunts. Another building reveals some snarks, which are also extremely useful in dealing with the issue. As the robogrunts spawn in, players can find themselves spawnkilled to oblivion by a half-dozen robogrunts just sauntering around an outdoor area where the players spawn, but with some grit ...

Big Penis - Dunkelschwamm

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      There really isn't any large male genitalia in this map. There is a small pixelated depiction of that but it's not the same. Besides that, hang out on a sandy island and hang out in the dance tent or hot tub. Edit: 2/20/2023: Shortly after we wrote our reviews, this map was removed from the database. The reason cited was the map's inclusion, in its entirety, in another map (Secret Lounge). Also the author credit is wrong. This review will be kept for posterity, including the incorrect author credit and broken link to a map page that no longer exists. SCMapDB page Author:Boxes Date of release:Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Big Penis (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 11, 2023 | 1555 characters      Big Penis is a hangout map for Sven Co-op. It creates a quaint island setting complete with a jacuzzi, tent, porta potty, towel robot, boombox, torches, and campfire. The boombox inside of the tent, as well as a p...

Battlefield - Dunkelschwamm

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      This map is a series of battlefields, some more annoying than others, that players must fight through. The big 'CK' in the above picture indicates the author's clan. SCMapDB page Author: Havok Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battlefield (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | November 13, 2022 | 4334 characters      Battlefield is a creative sequence of battles for Sven Co-op. Each battle gives you a different set of weapons to overcome overwhelming odds.      The rundown is simple: players respawn in a hallway with doors to teleporters to each arena. The first arena is the letters "CK" floating in xen-space where players must battle aliens using alien weapons to reach a button and continue. The second arena is a darkened cargo hold where players must fire on respawning soldiers and assassins until they find the button. The third is a big reservoir full of ichthyosaurs which players must na...

Battle Zone - GrandmasterJ

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      A never-ending stream of screaming Barneys fights a never-ending stream of soldiers on the other side of a moat. Walls and towers act as fortifications and a small shack at the far end of the map serves as an objective of sorts. SCMapDB page Author: Terminator Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battle Zone (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | November 6, 2022 | 2301 characters      This is a pretty common map design, an arena with some respawning enemies. The map is laid out as two sides of a river or canal or moat or whatever you want to call it with a bridge across it. Two walls with ramparts on the top are on either end. The player side has some friendly Barneys who do not stop yelling with underbarrel grenades (and by extension, M16s), shotguns, grenades, satchel charges, HEV, and the MP5. On the far ramparts and bank human soldiers spawn in endlessly.      Falling into the water is pretty annoy...

Battle Mania - GrandmasterJ

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      Imagine a large expanse of white and black tiles floating in the void. Fight enemies in one big leak. There is a secret area and the entrance there is invisible and out of the way. SCMapDB page Author: Pastacake Date of final release: 2019 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Battle Mania (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 22, 2022 | 1774 characters      Battle Mania is a big checkerboard flat plane filled with zombies. A large friendly Ape spins around in an invisible breakable enclosure. As the game goes on and we kill enemies, more and more powerful enemies appear. It culminates in a fight against Richard Boderman and the map ends as soon as he is dead. The map is fullbright and my teammate surmised it was because there is nothing between players and the void. Falling off the side of the checkerboard will result in falling forever without death. That's kind of a cool feature.      Except there is also extra stuff be...

Resident Evil: Covert Operations - GrandmasterJ

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      The second installment of the first Resident Evil series (two series of Resident Evil maps by two authors, this one is made by mrfranswa) is bigger and more Resident Evil than the first. We are trapped in a mansion once again and have to scavenger hunt our way out. SCMapDB page Author: mrfranswa Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Resident Evil: Covert Operations (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 13, 2022 | 6632 characters      I want to like a Sven Co-op Resident Evil map. I really do. This one started off real strong, it looks beautiful. The lobby of the mansion is huge, well lit, and has some really nice marble textures. It has the same scavenger hunt gameplay that's to be expected from survival horror but just so much more. Multiple times we had to traverse the entire level, once we had to go from the lowest depths underwater in the sewers to the top floor of the mansion and then back just to grab a ...

Barney Beach - Dunkelschwamm

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       This small slice of map is a recreation of the World War 2 beach landings at Normandy. It was converted from the 'War in Europe' and renamed to 'Barney Beach' for some reason, there are no Barneys here at all. SCMapDB page Original map author: Rob Lutz Conversion author: Unknown Date of original mod release: 2000 (estimated) Date of final Sven Map release: 2000 (estimated) Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barney Beach (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | September 25, 2022 | 2798 characters      Barney Beach is a map where players endlessly throw themselves at a beachhead where enemies spawn in over and over over again. I'm not sure what the goal is, or if there is one. It really seems like the goal is to endlessly throw yourself at respawning soldiers.      It's cute. It's a little beachhead map with boats players spawn in before hopping into the water and storming the beachhead.      Players are...

Baohu - GrandmasterJ

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      A front-doorless fort with a scientist glued to the center, a courtyard, and a button that spawns waves of enemies, the goal is to protect the scientist. Except enemies don't target the scientist so it is hard to lose this map. SCMapDB page Author: Ice Box Date of final release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Baohu (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 18, 2022 | 3108 characters      The map is simple, players start in a small fort and outside the front gate is a big field where enemies spawn in waves. There is a scientist in the middle of the fort stuck in place, if he dies then the game is lost. Now I thought this map was going to suck because it was going to be hard keeping the scientist alive, this is not the case. The scientist has 15000 health and can be healed, takes no damage from players, and enemies don't target him. We were careful about him at first but near the end we would bury him under satchel charges and bl...

Bad Training - GrandmasterJ

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      The map is called 'Bad Training' but I'm not sure what the map is training me for, perhaps because there are some targets in the map? Both the author and release date are unknown so the mystery is likely to remain unsolved. SCMapDB page Author: Unknown Date of final release: Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bad Training (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 17, 2022 | 2152 characters      This is a short map where players spawn in a room full of robo grunts and get shot immediately. The map also ahs a fade in, so we are getting shot without being able to see anything. There is a doorway but it is blocked by a crate, there is no ceiling, just sky, so we jump on top of some crates and we can see right over the walls. We can see and hear tons of robo grunts and there is a kingpin right there on the other side of the wall. Some robo grunts got lured into a fight with the kingpin, it was great. After trying to throw all manner ...

Resident Evil: The Aftermath - GrandmasterJ

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      There are a lot of Resident Evil maps for Sven Co-op and they mostly follow the same formula of exploring a mansion. The 'Aftermath' part of the title implies this map is a sequel but it is unclear what the previous map could be. SCMapDB page Author: James Smith Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Resident Evil: The Aftermath (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 1, 2022 | 5740 characters      I've been playing the first Resident Evil lately so my teammate and I decided to try out a Resident Evil map. He remembers the Resident Evil maps being pretty bad and I only remember vague impressions of them. So I thought I would start with the one with the lowest STARS rating.      The map starts off in a red chamber with a locked door and a hole high up in the wall. I think this is supposed to force at least two players to play but with the climbing mechanic that was added into Sven Co-op later you ...

Automap - Dunkelschwamm

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      Play a Sven Co-op map while it is being generated! This is a strange marriage of Roguelike and Co-op FPS that is really cool to experience, but unfortunately has been abandoned. SCMapDB page Author: w00tguy123 Date of final release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Automap (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | August 21, 2022 | 3763 characters      Automap is an abandoned map project for Sven Co-op that I think was really novel and almost works. Unfortunately, it doesn't. So, if you're looking for a recommendation, I recommend only trying this map out with friends if you're looking to run multiple iterations on the map before you get something nearly playable. But, when it does work, it's really quite neat.      The generator places players in a starting room and generates a map out of various possible pieces. When it works, it creates these funny tunnels full of a hodge podge of enemies that you're given a random ...

Juren - GrandmasterJ

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      This map is based off the very popular anime Attack on Titan. The Chinese name for the anime is Jinji de Juren, which is where the name of the map comes from. SCMapDB page Author: Dr.Abc Date of final release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Juren (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 10, 2022 | 3203 characters      This map is a great attempt at making Attack on Titan into a Sven Co-op experience, but unfortunately I just don't think this is the engine for killing titans like they do in the anime, chiefly rappelling around like spiderman with big swords slicing them up. Players are given the barnacles to do this but the hitbox just never seems to land for me. I think I have gotten a headshot or two with the barnacle and that will insta-gib the titans but really the whole mechanic is finicky at best, it never looks like the barnacle tongue hits them and it often goes right through a massive head and drags me through the titan to ...

Diego Land - GrandmasterJ

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      Diego Land is an unfinished and abandoned project meant for somebody, I believe it's a youtuber named Diego. The map description says there is supposed to be comedy but I can attest the mapper hasn't added anything like that before abandoning it. SCMapDB page Author: Galy Raffo Date of final release: 2019 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Diego Land (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | June 19, 2022 | 6156 characters      This map is abandoned, so it's unfinished and never will be finished. What is here is very clearly unfinished. The level design is incredibly simple and blocky, and combat encounters are wads of enemies in hallways. There are some cool fire effects that don't hurt and some custom models like stretched out scientists and weird cartoon pit drones. There were a lot of 3d models of bodies laying around which looked good but they were also solid and would constantly block me. It's an interesting map and it definitely would have...

Arena - GrandmasterJ

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      This is an arena. There are many like it, but this one is Arena. Enemies spawn in without end and the architecture is simple and blocky. SCMapDB page Author: Rivendell Date of final release: 2006 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arena (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | June 17, 2022 | 2295 characters      Arena is a fairly bland map. Players spawn next to friendly NPCs and some hostile ones and they fight and players can step in and help them. Left alone these two factions can generally keep each other busy. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to which monsters are friendly and which are hostile, it all seems random. There was a gargantua that I saw and helped kill but then I tried looking for anything else of interest and didn't find much, meanwhile my teammate fought spawning turrets, female assassins, a minigunner, and a big momma. I guess your mileage may vary. Players spawn fully loaded so that helps a lot.    ...

Pink - GrandmasterJ

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      Pink is a brightly colored and garish map with a short platforming section and then a boss fight around a big cup of water. It's very short and has no ending, there is an inaccessible hallway in the last room that does nothing. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Pink (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 30, 2022 | 2257 characters      Pink is a gross looking map that uses a lot of the uncommonly used alien textures. The map looks pretty gross. It starts off with a pretty bad platforming section, there are grenades here you definitely want and some shotgun shells on other platforms, the water here doesn't hurt at all so swimming is harmless. Thankfully the whole section is skippable, I swam to the end of the sequence, climbed onto the last platform and jumped to the end.      After the platforming players go through a hallway, over a shotgun, past three zombies, down...