Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      This map is sort of a mall, we have a big building with stores, bars, and some sort of storage area. There's a locked door players must find their way behind but beyond that the map is light on interaction and focuses more on exploration. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto, RNG, Poka Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Shopping Centre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 1, 2023 | 2733 characters      This is a map of a shopping center with the shops being contributed by three different mappers, RNG, Robootto, and Poka. Robootto is known for a very avant garde style bordering on nonsense. RNG is known for making very detailed grit. I don't know Poka very well.      Players are dumped in the main hallway, which is pretty blocky and plain. We have thick windows and big signs allowing us to see the stores that line the way, we have quite a selection, two of which I've seen before. There is a sushi bar I've seen in Indojapan tha

       How the tables have turned! Play as a captured alien and escape the human holding facility. This short walkthrough map leads players through holding pens to freedom. SCMapDB page Author: John Cable Date of release: 2001 Maps in package:1 Map review of Blastcorpse (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 25, 2023 | 3058 characters      Here we have an inversion of the typical Sven Co-op map, we are the aliens (in story, no custom models, although we do lack flashlights so is that alien?) fighting our way out of a military installation to freedom. We do this by using all human weapons, mostly uzis.      We start off in a cell where our military overlords have handed us a pile of uzis, single uzis so players have to wait 15 seconds to get a second one. There is a ladder to a room full of ammo. Also of note here are these weird blue rectangles on the walls next to the health chargers, those are HEV chargers.      We burst through a wall and enter a hallway wh

      Based on a level in Gex by the same name, this map features a rooftop battle in a wacky city that players traverse through platforming and ladders. There is good music but also constant annoying sound effects. SCMapDB page Author: Agent Zero the Koraa Hunter Date of release: 2018 Maps in package:1 Map review of Dial "A" for "Arson" (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 23, 2023 | 5903 characters      I played this map and reviewed it a long time ago. I remember it was late at night and my teammate was falling asleep, neither of us had fun and I tore the map to shreds. My teammate didn't review because he remembered none of it. Well, after a revisit I can say that I was wrong. Playing this map while awake was definitely the way to go.      The map starts with a sweet camera flyover of the level, it's based on Gex, a platformer, so there is a lot of platforming showcased. Players pop into existence in a little room above a pile of HEV a

      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 GrandmasterJ | November 29, 2021 | 2276 characters      This is a short and simple map with a fun gimmick. I love maps with a single focused gimmick and I think this one does it pretty well. I originally reviewed this map at the listed date, but have since edited it on 3/18/2023.      So you are in a map with a small city and enemies spawn in to attack you. The map description says 'you may choose to destroy the city' but let me tell you, if you are not destroying the city you are playing this map wrong. It's incredible fun blowing skyscrapers up and smashing things. Whenever an enemy would destroy a building I would get offended because that is what I am there to do.      The enemies are robo grunt

      If you are looking for a lengthy cooperative experience with a friend then you could do a lot worse than this map. It may be a bit generic, it is called 'Big Coop Map' after all but the title is accurate and its not bad. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Big Coop Map (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 11, 2023 | 4947 characters      Here's a map that does exactly as described, this is a big cooperative map. We have our standard Half-Life 1 themed facility walkthrough map but with a bit of a twist.      The first area is a fairly straightforward affair, an outside approach to a door with a ton of turrets around. We start with just mp5s but unlock weapons later. There is a shipping container that will start to spawn underbarrel grenades and a rocket launcher later. The first hint that the map is a bit off is when we get to the big segmented door at the end, and instead of the top sliding u

    This map is not just Duck Hunt, it also has a Frogger section as well. Snipe aliens out of the air on one side of the map and dodge fast cars in another. SCMapDB page Author: LentoMan Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Retrohunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 4, 2023 | 2792 characters      Retrohunt is not only a version of Duck Hunt remade for Sven Co-op, but it is also Frogger. Player start off in a room that is half dark alley and half bright NES hunting ground each with a teleporter.      In the Frogger side of things players are dropped onto a narrow sidewalk with four lanes of fast cars speeding by. When I first went through my teammate telefragged me by using the teleporter right behind me, so watch out for that. Actually crossing the road is an ordeal, as the cars are fast, deadly, and don't appear in an easily timed intervals as their speeds can change.      Getting across the road (and the floating platforms, thi

      Some mysterious stuff is going down on Earth so the players pop through a dimensional portal to what I assume to be Black Mesa to catch the G-man. Fight through the facility as soldiers and aliens fight each other and watch out for ambushes. SCMapDB page Author:eMTeG Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Between the Lines (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 4, 2023 | 3156 characters      As far as maps go I would say this one is very average. We have the standard Black Mesa texturing, even if the story is trying not to be standard Half-Life fare. Players start off with the basic pistol, medkit, crowbar loadout in a spawn room with weapons locked behind glass. Going through a teleport throws players into the level proper.      I wasn't happy to start a level off with seeing all these weapons locked off and then getting thrown into combat with nothing more than the standard weapons. However, I quickly found an mp5 and my teammate r

      Hot sand, cool waves, a Mai Tai and/or Piña Colada, these are things that would complete a fun experience at the beach. This map is loosely themed on the Normandy beach landings of World War II and for some reason feature lots of closed off hallways. SCMapDB page Author: MysticMDT Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Beach Experience (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 14, 2023 | 2677 characters      Beach Experience is supposed to be a World War II themed map loosely designed around a certain famous beach landing. It had a beach in the first section but the rest was some winding mineshaft style hallways and a couple of bunkers.      Players are dropped off into a room with some class selection doorways around. We have Sniper, Medic, Soldier, Demoman. All players start with 5 grenades and a crowbar, the medic and demoman get the uzi and shotgun for weapons while the sniper gets a crossbow and the soldier gets an M16, mp5, and rocket launcher

      With a name like Black Mesa Space Basement this map had better be a wacky adventure! It certainly has a lot of wacky custom models and a crazy map layout! SCMapDB page Author: Forastero Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black Mesa Space Basement (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 1, 2023 | 3133 characters      Black Mesa Space Basement sounds like wacky hijinks, and it kind of is. The level itself is nothing special, some standard Black Mesa hallways, computer rooms, and textures, with tons of props and furniture cluttering everything up. The main feature of the map is the heavy use of new models for the various enemies players must fight. Some models where red skeletons, some were Half-Life 2 antlions, there was a couple of xenomorphs, and even the yellow robot lifter seen once in the opening scene of Half-Life.      Players start out in a room filled with weapons and ammo. This is a pretty good room with plenty of supplies for my

      There are a lot of maps out there where players have to deal with infinitely spawning enemies. This map is yet another one of those but it has a pretty good layout. There is no end to this map. SCMapDB page Author: Socrates Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Canal (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 22, 2022 | 1741 characters      Canal is a simple arena horde map where players spawn in an arena and enemies never stop spawning in. We're well equipped with just a shotgun, mp5, and revolver to take down the headcrabs, houndeyes, and vortigaunts that spawn in the middle of the arena, and the bullsquid and HECU grunt that spawn on the side. There is a small amount of ammo in the corner but players spawn in with quite a bit of ammo to begin with.      The map is real small and consists of a canal with a small island in the middle that is connected to the sides with bridges. One one side of the map is a ladder that leads to a catwalk t

      The most recent Resident Evil map takes place in the streets and the Raccoon City Police Department just like Resident Evil 2. Later on it takes on a blend of different Resident Evil titles. SCMapDB page Author: Jamesmarine Date of final release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Resident Evil: Biohazard (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 20, 2022 | 7715 characters      I really want to like a Resident Evil Sven Co-op map. This map starts off strong with a beautiful opening, a great looking street, and it actually looks like a Resident Evil themed map. It's got a lot of backtracking and a combination of few enemies and firepower makes a lot of the map pretty boring.      The map starts with difficulty selection, normal and hard. We opted for normal but in hindsight that may have made the map far too easy for two seasoned players. Regardless of difficulty players get shown a cutscene introduction and are dropped onto the city streets. There are no ene

       A big room with columns arranged in a grid, between each group of columns is a breakable barrel. Each barrel is worth one point and a door is supposed to open exposing the map end. SCMapDB page Author: Unknown Date of final release: Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barrels (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | October 1, 2022 | 1323 characters      Barrels is a fun little map where it spawns a whole bunch of barrels in a grid and gives you ever weapon to deal with them. It's fun to try to compete with your teammates to destroy the most barrels. Since they're in a grid, it's pretty easy to line a bunch up and take out a whole bunch with a fast-firing accurate weapon like the gauss gun or the egon gun, or even the SAW. The map is done up in antique brick, and it looks really nice.      Unfortunately, when we completed the map the exit door did not open. Using noclip, we were able to inside of the wall we were able to discern was the exit door and th

      A big room with columns arranged in a grid, between each group of columns is a breakable barrel. Each barrel is worth one point and a door is supposed to open exposing the map end. SCMapDB page Author: Unknown Date of final release: Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barrels (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | October 1, 2022 | 1886 characters      I thought this map was going to be a Mario Party esque minigame where we break a bunch of barrels and I was not disappointed. Players spawn in individual cells that all open at the same time, unleashing players on a large pillared room with tons of barrels in it with some intense music in the background. We had every weapon with full ammo so no worries about firepower. Each barrel awards players one point, at the end my teammate and I both had 54 points, so I guess that means there are 108 barrels in the map.      I noticed the map has a changelog where supposedly the door to the map end closes right after opening af

      Barnacle Flight is a map based on a quirk of barnacle grappling your fellow player, causing everybody to fly (glitch around) in the air. On the map database it lists the author as g1l but in the map the author is listed as Venomys. Also, there is a map titled 'Barnacle Flight 2' that preceded this map, this map comes after number 2, it's all very confusing. SCMapDB page Author: g1l Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Barnacle Flight (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 22, 2022 | 2298 characters      The gimmick here is that players grapple onto each other and sort of hover in the air around the map. Now to be fair I only tried this with two people and the exploit is clearly intended to work with more than that. We attempted the instructions on the floating block in the middle of spawn but with only two people we couldn't really direct ourselves in any direction, maybe that is still a problem with more people, I don&#

       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 dunkelschwamm | September 17, 2022 | 1879 characters      Bad Training is a very short walkthrough map for Sven Co-op. It is not very competently made, but that's not to say it's a bad map. Let's explain.      Now, I have to admit up front, this is an ugly map. This map doesn't look good. It is very function over form, but there are many functionless choices- from the strange choices of textures to the easily climbed walls to the robogrunts who attack right out of spawn. Everything here is a questionable choice that detracts from the overall map.      However, there's something fun at play

       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 dunkelschwamm | September 15, 2022 | 4338 characters      Bad Day at Work is a release of four maps of an unfinished series. Players tour a very modern looking lab complex, tour a very modern looking lab complex during an alien invasion, and tour a very decidedly unmodern alien invasion during a lab complex.      There are four maps, but one is an intro, two have gameplay, and the last one is such a non-sequitur cutaway to aliens before an abrupt map end that it plays off like a joke. So, I'll review the first three maps.      The first map is very atmospheric and interesting looking. The lab complex looks very different from most Black Mes

      Just another average Black Mesa themed walkthrough map. Backattack is a small collection of Black Mesa themed areas with some heavy combat sprinkled around. SCMapDB page Author: Sust Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Backattack (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 10, 2022 | 3433 characters      The map description reads "a small indoor/outdoor walkthrough map" and that is really the best way to describe it. This map has your standard Black Mesa fare, with lots of underground hallways, crates, plenty of vents, and some desert outdoor areas. The map is fairly short, but the enemies have tons of health and there is not much ammo around, it is definitely geared for more players on a server.      Players start off in a tunnel with a crate. The crate breaks as players walk by and a headcrab feebly attacks. You're going to want to go inside this crate because it has the revolver in it. Right after that is a locked door, a b

      This is a short map that puts players in a very defensible building with respawning monsters outside. Players who can get past the enemies can explore a short walkthrough portion until hitting the map end. SCMapDB page Author: Yaxez Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Azac (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 10, 2022 | 3297 characters      This map started off looking like a defense map with never-ending zombies and gonomes. But it turned out to be a mix of a couple gameplay elements. It's very short and my teammate and I beat it in less than ten minutes.      The map starts off with a cutscene of a courtyard with a fence, full of zombies. The camera follows a baby garg around and eventually the fence shatters. I was surprised at first because I was not expecting this map to have production value like this, but it was a fairly simple cutscene.      Players spawn in a room with a big window and four buttons. These buttons control

      Ayakashi is the collective name for Yokai (the Japanese term for supernatural beings) that appear over bodies of water. There isn't any water in this map but there are plenty of Yokai with custom models to shoot with fancy new gun models. SCMapDB page Author: nekomata, GAMESABA Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Ayakashi Banquet (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | September 4, 2022 | 4037 characters      The screenshot for this map is a giant skeleton guy and I was pretty excited to take down a big skeleton guy with dual machine guns. Unfortunately that is all this map is, fighting enemies with lots of health with cool weapon reskins.      The map is very one note, the walls are stretched out hedges with large arenas separated by big ramps with torii looming over them. At spawn there are two pickup trucks holding a bunch of weapons and there are well structures in each of the three arenas that heal players and provide ammo. The arenas ge

      The follow up to Svencoop 1, the sequel continues showing off things that can be done with Sven maps. Be warned, the map can be rendered unwinnable if you aren't paying attention. SCMapDB page Author: Sven Viking Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Svencoop 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 17, 2022 | 7913 characters      I couldn't really give an honest review of the first map in this series. It was really a demonstration and a bar setter for the rest of the maps for Sven Co-op. To be honest, I didn't much like it, but I'm spoiled with over 20 years of not only improved mapping resources but also fewer limits and more functionality of the engine. Svencoop2 comes right on the heels of the first map, just one year later. It keeps on demonstrating gameplay mechanics and has very fun cutscenes but it definitely wears on me a lot more than the first game.      The map starts off where the last one ended, a flooded room. T