Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       This map is a work in progress and may change drastically in the future. That said, it's really only missing a proper game end and everything else looks good and works well. SCMapDB page Author: Gruntzz Date of final release: 2022 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bounty (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | June 10, 2022 | 6181 characters      Bounty is a map heavily inspired by Hotline Miami, from the aesthetic to the gameplay. What's the gameplay like? Why, you run into a room fulla guys and immediately get shot to death, that's what!      This is a work-in-progress map (as of June 10 2022) as far as I understand, so take this review as constructive criticism that I'll happily revisit in a re-review should this map be updated.      Getting on with the review: let's start with the aesthetic. I think one of Hotline Miami's greatest strengths is its strong sense of aesthetic, but visually and sonically. Bounty captures the lighting, mood, and s

      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 GrandmasterJ | May 30, 2022 | 5513 characters      At this point in my map reviewing career I've played a lot of maps. I'm still not even 15% of the way done yet. But I have played a LOT of maps by this mapper, Robootto. I've come to expect a certain caliber of map from him. Maybe its the fact that I've just played two maps in a row that weren't actively malicious to the player, but this map is different than what he usually creates.      The map starts off in a strange room with a weird line in the wall, some weird tile blocks on either side of a steep staircase, and a bunch of ammo for weapons we don't have. There is a door here that is breakable and part of the wall with the we

      The point of this map is to drive an APC through a linear map blowing up obstacles and enemies along the way. The map certainly looks rough and the vehicles in Sven are very deadly to the occupants, but the map still delivers a fun experience. SCMapDB page Author: JJ45 Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of APC Rally (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 4927 characters      APC Rally is a map about riding an APC through enemies in crazy fun combat. The map description sold me on the idea and I was excited to play. The map is pretty old and it can be pretty rough at times, but I think it did manage to deliver on its promise. The combat is exactly the kind of stuff I remember seeing in Sven maps back in the day, dense high health enemies that players chew through using tons of weapons.      The first thing that needs to be addressed is the APC. Yes, there is a drivable APC that needs to be driven through obstacles to unlock the way

       Annihilation is a heavy word, it's one of those words where if used as a name it needs to really illustrate the destructive power within. This map is forgettable walkthrough map through rough rooms and halls. SCMapDB page Author: Skals Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Annihilation (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 27, 2022 | 1912 characters      Annihilation is a short action-packed map that burns bright and burns fast.      Players escort a bunch of OpFor marines into an arena where they are ambushed by pitdrones which spawn (maybe endlessly?) from two pipes in a room which opens rather explosively (I was killed by the door falling off its hinges). The room is an ambush, and soon you're fighting gonomes attacking from a hole in the wall as well. If you advance on their position, a wall breaks down and a baby garg comes out to fight. Eventually one of us found the exit in a hole in the ground.      At some point you'r

       Monsters sit in better mousetraps of varying degrees of creativity and involvement from the player in a gallery of fatal contraptions. SCMapDB page Author: Michael Koeberlein, LordSlayer Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Alien Die 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 11, 2022 | 3709 characters      Alien Die 2, sequel to (in my opinion mediocre) map Alien Die, is a significant improvement on the formula of watching enemies die while placed safely away from the players themselves. This time there are far more interesting contraptions, an overall better aesthetic which gives the map a sense of identity, and better distribution of set pieces. This time, instead of everything being messily placed in a circle around a big death pit, the map is broken up into four sections where each toolbox comes with its own set of fun gimmicks.      I would say one of the biggest improvements that this map has over the previous Alien Die (other than e

       Metal Bar is a reference to a genre of music and a drinking establishment, not a material and an object. This map features two bars with speakers blasting some heavy metal with very low quality audio. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto and RNG Date of final release: 2006 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Metal Bar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3757 characters      Metal Bar is a map by Robootto and RNG. The map is intended to be a fun map for people to chill out on in a server. I feel like the environment of a metal bar is evoked shockingly well in both Robootto's and RNG's bars. I really like these Robootto maps with RNG coauthoring. I feel like RNG really brought the best out of Robootto.      The map takes place in a sort of outdoor strip mall type of location with lots of palm trees. To the left is Ixa's metal bar. I presume this metal bar is the one which Robootto mostly made, based on part of the description describing the secr

      Affliction is a standalone mod converted to Sven Co-op set in Black Mesa. There are a lot of maps for Sven with the same story, this one is fairly standard. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: Toni Hiltunen Conversion authors: Outerbeast Date of original mod release: 2002 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Affliction (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 3285 characters      This map set started off on a really cool car crash that send players down into a tunnel. It's a fun scripted event. Unfortunately survival mode is on by default. I usually turn that off when I play, the first map was fine, there was only one death between my teammate and I. The second map however has some brutal poison followed by a heavy weapons grunt which killed us a lot, making disabling survival mode a must. My first death on this map set was from climbing inside a destroyed computer, the bottom of the computer was concave and I was fa

      Gargantua pit is a simple arena with two gargantuas stomping around. Use a wide variety of weapons to bully them into submission.  SCMapDB page Author: Jake Andres Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Gargantua Pit (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 29, 2022 | 2172 characters      This map was made way back in 1999, one of the first maps made for Sven Co-op, and is one of the official maps featured in one of the early releases of Sven Co-op. I didn't really know what to expect, but it felt very similar to 2bases.      The whole point of the map is to bully two gargantuas in an arena with an arsenal of weapons. The correct word for it is bully. At first my teammate and I took teleporters to high vantage points and shot at the gargantuas from afar, but I got bored and started to run around the arena. The arena has ammo and HEV scattered around but it also has access to the spawn area and a generous bounty of high explosives. Players

      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 GrandmasterJ | January 23, 2022 | 5236 characters      The screenshots looked good, I wanted to fight a giant mech, I was so excited for this map. There are two maps in this set, and only one contains a giant mech, so it was a little bit of a letdown.      The first map is forgettable and I question why it was there at all. Players first have to climb a shelf right in the beginning and I had a lot of trouble with it. The goemetry was all weird, there were two shelves and one didn't seem to want to let

      Hellmouth is a map that takes place in Hell! Players must defend a statue at the mouth of Hell before venturing in and killing a bunch of monsters. SCMapDB page Author: Ike Brovlofski Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Hellmouth (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 22, 2022 | 5488 characters      Hellmouth is a map I went into thinking it would suck, reading the description and looking at the screenshots I thought I would have a hell of a time playing this. My main concern was that I would have to defend the statue in the first map. Much to my surprise and joy no monster ever tried to attack the statue, this was a ton of pressure off me.      The first map is simple wave defense. Protect the statue (no pressure, the enemies don't attack it, at least not that I saw) and kill all the enemies. Players start with a crowbar and have to fight zombies and fat zombies. Eventually an mp5 and revolver appear at the base of the statue. Enemi

       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 dunkelschwamm | January 15, 2022 | 3300 characters      It Has Leaks was an old favorite of mine back in the Sven Co-op 4.0 days. Of course, those days are long ago, and we've come a long way. Does It Has Leaks hold up?      The first thing you'll notice about IHL is its striking style. It has a decidedly Quake/Hexen 2 feel to it, and takes place entirely in dingy Eldritch libraries. Everything from the red skybox to the lighting is fantastic throughout the map, and the visuals hold up even after all these years.      The enemies you'll be fighting throughout are alien controllers, pit drones, voltigores, and a baby gargantua. Along the way there's also some

       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

      Surface Run is a map where players must run to the surface. It's a conversion from a standalone mod that takes place in Black Mesa. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: noSICK Conversion authors: Outerbeast Date of original mod release: 2011 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Surface Run (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by GrandmasterJ | January 16, 2022 | 3918 characters      The objective of the map is simple, run to the surface. Players spawn at the elevator to the surface and are told their first objective is to find a medkit. If players use the elevator they get a message saying it needs a keycard. This first part has players wandering around with no weapons. The map is fairly linear until player get to a grate that breaks underneath their feet plunging them down into a portal to Xen.      This is where the map starts having some issues. My teammate died during this fall to Xen and I don't know how. There are a few teleporters in this

       1-6 is a series of maps labelled 1 through 6, this is some real early Sven stuff. The author is amckern (with a small 'a') who has gone on to make really important mapping tools for Sven along with plenty of other maps. SCMapDB page Author: amckern Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 6 Map review of 1-6 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | November 27, 2021 | 1561 characters      1-6 is a series of short, paint-by-numbers interconnected arenas for battling crowds of Sven-Coop's diverse cast of monsters using the equally diverse arsenal to great effect. The brushwork is of inconsistent (if not for being consistently uninspired) quality throughout, though it is hard to say that it ever nosedives into the realm of being of shoddy construction. The map does little to regulate pacing and lets the player approach room after room of angry monsters or grunts with fun weapons to get the job done. I had a lot of fun with it, but I owe a lot of that to it simply