Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      "I've got you now Sonic!" Then the big grinder turns on, blades spin, lasers emit, and lava boils up from the floor. This is a one-room map that ends when players defeat Eggman's machine. SCMapDB page Author: ZpElmO Date of final release: 2018 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arma-Egg-On (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 8, 2022 | 2213 characters      I saw the screenshots and I was endeared. There was Eggman sitting in his little control booth. The textures were mostly default Half-Life stuff but done up in a colorful way that emphasized the caution black and yellow stripes. The result is a single room map with a fun Eggman trap complete with looping music and laser effects.      The entire gameplay of the map consists of avoiding Eggman's machine in the middle of the arena. It has spinning blades at ankle level and another at just about head level. Two platforms rotate around the middle at about shoulder height, standing on the platform

      This map is a series of arenas that players fight enemies in. It really lives up to its name, there isn't a whole lot left to describe. SCMapDB page Author: eMTeG Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arena Fights (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 1, 2022 | 5262 characters      The map is Arena Fights and I can confirm that there are arenas and players do fight in them. The map description really does sum it all up nicely, there are three areas with different enemy composition and pressing buttons opens the way forward.      The map starts players off with almost a full complement of weapons. I would have liked an egon gun but I did start with 10 underbarrel grenades so all is forgiven. There is a ton of HEV in the spawn area even though players start with full HEV. There are two blast doors here but only one opens right now.      The first arena is full of friendly soldiers behind a defensive position. Pressing the accessbile button

       Apprehension is a map that looks like Black Mesa but the story is about terrorists capturing scientists. There are also aliens here so if you ignore the story completely this map plays like yet another Black Mesa map. SCMapDB page Author: HeAdCrAb KILLA Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apprehension (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | June 5, 2022 | 6095 characters      Apprehension is the name of this map from HeAdCrAb KILLA. Despite the festive name, Apprehension is what I would consider to be a very straight-forward walkthrough action walkthrough map with a typical Black Mesa style. Specifically, the map focuses on grand fire fights between players, ally soldiers, and various enemy factions. Within the map you find yourself fighting grunts, robogrunts, robogrunt gargantuas, and Race X as your primary foes. You face these with an MP5, a shotgun, a handgun, grenades, and later a 357, a rocket launcher, and if you play your cards right qu

       Welcome to the surreal pool. This map has some trippy dimensions and overall weird construction, giving the map a surreal and liminal feel to it.  SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Poolarea (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 30, 2022 | 3725 characters      Poolarea is a very interesting map by notorious mapper robootto. The map features a large pool area liberally seasoned with aliens, grunts, assassins, and a gargantua. The fun doesn't stop there, as secrets unveil more battles in side areas and more weapons to take the map with.      I guess Poolarea is meant as a hangout map where the secrets and objectives of taking out the enemies are tertiary to the main RP-style hangout spot Gldsrc tourism aspect. I get that. As a matter of fact, I'd say it's one of robootto's more successful accomplishments in that realm. The diving boards are all there, all reachable, and I think it's a nice

       Arctic Escape is Arctic in that the hallway players are in is snow themed, and the escape bit comes from the end level trigger being in a helicopter. There is little opposition on the way to the end. SCMapDB page Author: Rodhy Date of final release: 2021 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arctic Escape (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 30, 2022 | 3172 characters      Arctic Escape is a map by Rodhy (and he won't let you forget it) which has a very old-school vibe to it. It's a linear action map, where the player moves setpiece to setpiece along a road. That may sound a bit dull, but when you combine it with heavy equipment and ammo it can be pretty fun. Unfortunately, the enemies barely escalate to a degree that they match the players' readiness, making the map a flash of action which burns out very quickly.      As mentioned, the players are given tons of weapons and ammo right away with very generous respawn rates on the items given. I love this,

      Arctic Escape is Arctic in that the hallway players are in is snow themed, and the escape bit comes from the end level trigger being in a helicopter. There is little opposition on the way to the end. SCMapDB page Author: Rodhy Date of final release: 2021 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Arctic Escape (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 30, 2022 | 3260 characters      Arctic Escape is a short and easy map where players take a leisurely stroll down an arctic hallway to a helicopter. It's a pretty rough and blocky looking map. Chain link fences and ladder textures don't have transparency applied so both objects have unnatural black spots where one would usually be able to see right through.      When we started the map we immediately picked up some weapons and ammo off the ground. To our complete surprise the stuff popped back into existence instantly. There was a great deal of loot at the start, HEV batteries, 9mm, magnum ammo, inside three crates was a cro

      According to the map description, KTIVT stands for  Krasnoyarsk Technical-College Of Information And Computer-Engineering which this map is recreating. The map description also says you are supposed to save scientists but good luck with that. SCMapDB page Author: RastaManGames Date of final release: 2016 Maps in package: 1 Map review of KTIVT (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 27, 2022 | 3890 characters      This is a recreation of a college in Russia, presumably the mapper's alma mater. I have just got to say, the map description is a joy to read. Everything about this map is endearing from the map page, the author's comments, and the very simple and inelegant map design.      The map does look blocky and rough. Door textures are sometimes backwards and none of the doors are actually doors, they are all breakables. Everything has really thick edges and makes all the details, especially the chairs, look like they are made out of thick plastic, like all t

      Listed alphabetically, the list of maps tend to form clumps. Garg is first in line in the clump of Gargantua themed maps and is pretty indicative of what these maps tend to play like. SCMapDB page Author: ShotGunKiller Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 15, 2022 | 2364 characters      The map description is very apt for this map, it is an arena with infinitely respawning gargantuas and an arena with some exploration bits. Players start on a cliff overlooking the garg and the arena, I immediately saw a rocket launcher on top of a building, when I ran across the bridge to get it the bridge broke and I fell in with the garg. You have to jump up the crates in front of the building to access the rocket launcher, there is a vent around the side of the building that allows access to the inside and some goodies. There are some other sections with enemies, like the long hallway on the other side of the rea

      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 GrandmasterJ | April 15, 2022 | 4445 characters      According to the notes in the map description this map is unfinished. It definitely feels unfinished, there are so many minor details that have been overlooked it feels like a really well done amateur map. There are so many Black Mesa themed maps that having a map set in space in orbit over Neptune is novel and the custom textures, level design, story bits delivered every now and then really helped sell the setting.      We started out in a small craft heading towards the space station. At first, due to the double meaning of Neptune, we thought the ma

       Alien Defense is a simple arena with infinitely spawning aliens. Players start out in a fort with some friendly soldiers and the aliens continuously run in. SCMapDB page Author: Wildcat Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Alien Defense (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 6, 2022 | 1591 characters      Alien Defense is a map wherein players team up with respawning grunts in a moderately sized fortress to hold back respawning shock troopers, alien controllers, and pit drones. There is a healthy selection of weapons so players can choose how they want to endlessly battle their foes.      The mapping is serviceable, boilerplate. It doesn't really evoke a real location as much as the impression of an understandable location: a fortress in some sort of desert valley at night. It's easy to understand that much.      Overall, there's very little to say about it. The map is fine, and the encounter seems balanced enough that we coul

       Svencoop is THE eponymous Sven Co-op map. It is the first map ever created for the mod, it was the only map included when Sven first came out, and it's been included in every single release since then. SCMapDB page Author: Sven Viking Date of final release: 1999 (updated a lot, last in 2010) Maps in package: 1 (but there is a separate Svencoop 2 map) Map review of Svencoop 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 5, 2021 | 2906 characters      SvenCoop 1 is a charming and simple cooperative map from a simpler time that is largely overshadowed by the maps which have since followed.      Throughout it makes many attempts at fun cooperative activities. A couple times this involves two guys pressing buttons at once, there's this one puzzle where you have to lower these blocks which slowly raise back up which each have buttons behind them to press at the same time but while you're trying to lower these baby gargs spawn in. There's this one puzzle w

      When a map has a name as simple and powerful as 'Adventure' it better live up to it. This is a walkthrough map where the gimmick is that each room is thematically unrelated to the last. SCMapDB page Author: Acky Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Adventure (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 30, 2022 | 4348 characters      This map has a simple premise: adventure. That made me think that I would be fighting through thematically disconnected rooms in some sort of adventurous manner. I would say it fulfilled it's goal.      The spawn room is a room full of doors, there are four doors with teleporters behind them, one to the level, and another to an armory. The armory is well stocked for one person, but with two people we chronically had the problem that one person would get in first and take everything and the other would be left with a crowbar. Even the weapons disappeared after being taken. The respawn rate for the suppli

       This map looks awesome. I mean look at that screenshot, it's a giant mech with enormous guns stomping all around and the player has a rocket launcher. There are some other things in the map set but just look at that mech. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: Jedidiah Clay Kirchner Conversion authors: Garompa Date of original mod release: 2001 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Mechanized Death: Army of None (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | January 23, 2022 | 7186 characters      Mechanized Death: Army of None is… quite a project. From what I can gather from the reading, it's a conversion of a separate mod by one Jed Kirchner. I researched a bit further to learn about what this port does different from Mechanized Death: Army of None. I'll make notes throughout the review about this, but first and foremost this is a review of the Sven Co-op port of Mechanized Death: Army of None as its own experience as a Sven Co-op ma

      Released officially in the Sven Co-op 4 release, this map claims to have leaks. The name is a non-sequitur, as the main point of the map is to retrieve the scroll of wisdom. SCMapDB page Author: Skacky Date of final release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of It Has Leaks (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 16, 2022 | 4471 characters      I played It Has Leaks years ago back when it was a map included in SC4. I don't remember much of it or how I felt about it then. But now that I've played it again it is solidly all right.      Before I even get into the map itself I want to talk about the textures. The whole map takes place in a library and there are some interesting textures used for the library shelves. There are jars of weird liquids, scrolls, and of course books. The lighting is very moody and really sells the fantasy medieval library vibe the map has. The architecture is somewhat alien and reminiscent of Quake in some places, like the catwalk

      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

       Abandoned is an official map included in the Sven Co-op 4 and 5 releases. The map takes place in an abandoned section of Black Mesa during the events of Half-Life. SCMapDB page Author: Nih Date of final release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Abandoned (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 1, 2021 | 4124 characters      Abandoned is a fairly decent action walkthrough map that's made for more players than I played with, and it shows. The map has a very loose and flowy progression which is somewhat refreshing at times, somewhat bumbling at others. The brutalist, industrial setting is convincing, but also stands to issue with many doors of differing importance often being lined up one after the other next to one another without much to distinguish them other than their position in the order.      Much of the map is made up of mostly well paced action sequences. It begins a bit rough at first for the arsenal given, but as the player's arsenal opens

      Abandoned is an official map included in the Sven Co-op 4 and 5 releases. The map takes place in an abandoned section of Black Mesa during the events of Half-Life. SCMapDB page Author: Nih Date of final release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Abandoned (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 1, 2022 | 2330 characters      I haven't played many official Sven maps except for Toon Run, I had high hopes for this map. While the first half was going ok, the second half with the countdown really lost me.      The map is a scavenger hunt with shortcuts to the main spawn area opening up as you progress. This works really well for the most part, there are some areas that can get a little confusing but after shortcuts open up things get much easier to navigate.      Enemies come suddenly and in large numbers. This is definitely a map that needs quite a few players. The sudden barrages can and do overwhelm small groups of players. Luckily there are some great weap

      SEXR is a rats map set in the author's bedroom. It's not meant to have linear progression, the map description clearly states it is meant to be a lobby map. Despite this there are areas that act very much like a linear sequence of objectives. SCMapDB page Author: SharkMan Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of SEXR (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | December 12, 2021 | 5209 characters      I really love the rats maps in Counter-Strike so when I was very excited when I saw this map. Overall I liked it but there definitely came a point where I wanted the map to be over. I think we reached the end of the map, there wasn't really an indication of whether we did or not.      The map takes place in a bedroom. Players spawn in all over the room, I spawned on top of a computer desk. On top of different furniture are different weapons. Two major problems with this set up is that there were no ladders to get down from these spawn points. Ther

      Chancars is a fun map with a big mostly open area with plenty of cars to drive around. There is a locked door players can unlock by ramping through a ring several times, but other than that there is no progression. It's just a map to have fun with. SCMapDB page Author: Gruntzz Date of final release: 2021 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Chancars (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | December 4, 2021 | 2002 characters      I'm just going to say it, goldsrc has some terrible vehicles and func_vehicle is finicky at best.      The map idea is pretty standard stuff, a map with ramps and other fun terrain features and a bunch of wacky cars. Some of the cars are quite wacky like the surfboard with a wave behind it, the jousting chairs, the jetbikes with 3d models attached to the vehicle so they actually look like jetbikes. I did really enjoy taking most of them out for a spin.      The main problem is that half the time I am driving I die. Whether it's because I g

      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