Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      As the title suggests we fight a gargantua in this map. The level is very small and consists of only one small arena dotted with some obstacles and a couple of supplies. The garg respawns when killed and there is no end. SCMapDB page Author: Socrates Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Hunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 18, 2023 | 2741 characters      Garghunt is a classic map with a classic goal: hunt the garg.      But it is a ruse, you see! To hunt the garg, you must first earn the hunt! To do so, you must first be hunted! Players spawn with a pistol which is ineffectual against the titular garg. So, instead, players are encouraged to roam the map with the garg in hot pursuit as they find weapons which can put a dent in the beast. This generally comes in the form of satchel charges, RPG rockets, and the odd explosive crossbow bolt. All of these can be found on the battlefield, though the RPG is found on a ledge where

      As the title suggests we fight a gargantua in this map. The level is very small and consists of only one small arena dotted with some obstacles and a couple of supplies. The garg respawns when killed and there is no end. SCMapDB page Author: Socrates Date of release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Hunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 18, 2023 | 1335 characters      Fresh from the year 1999 we have a very simple arena map dedicated to fighting a single garg (at a time). This was an official map from the first version of Sven Co-op. It's light on the gameplay, very unpolished, and somewhat annoying to play.      We have a few weapons scattered around the arena like a revolver, mp5, gauss gun, satchel charges, and a rocket launcher on a ledge next to a bullsquid. Rush the rocket launcher and then the garg is easy to take down, map over. But it is an arena horde map so the garg just comes back forever. The arena itself has some boxes, a li

    Here is a map that is famous in the Sven Co-op community. Players must fight hordes of enemies in a huge arena with lots of vertical elements. Fun custom models representing members of the community (a recent addition, apparently), a kick-ass helicopter, plus music and voiceover really brings this whole map together in an amazing way. SCMapDB page Author: Aurora, JPolito, Puchi, Hydeph Date of release: 2008 Maps in package:1 Map review of Richard Boderman (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 25, 2023 | 4711 characters *!*!*!*300th MAP REVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA*!*!*!*      Richard Boderman is an arena map for Sven Co-op and by now is a certified classic. With the Garompa edit, it's even better. The monsters of the map, both friends and foe, are flavored as members of the community and have models and gimmicks to match. It's both a tremendous celebration of the Sven Co-op community and a really fun way to make this a colorful, interesting map.      T

      Here is a map that is famous in the Sven Co-op community. Players must fight hordes of enemies in a huge arena with lots of vertical elements. Fun custom models representing members of the community (a recent addition, apparently), a kick-ass helicopter, plus music and voiceover really brings this whole map together in an amazing way. SCMapDB page Author: Aurora, JPolito, Puchi, Hydeph Date of release: 2008 Maps in package:1 Map review of Richard Boderman (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 25, 2023 | 4509 characters      Richard Boderman is a pretty famous map and I have just reached the 300th map reviewed milestone so I rustled up a third person and tackled the famous boss battle the map is named after.      The map is a huge circular arena. There are cliffside ramps up the face of the sides and in the central mountain as well as ladders allowing lots of verticality in the map. Various trench systems and bunkers hide supplies and provide cover from the

    Whenever a map comes to a close and transitions to the next map we have a good chance of that next map being Black Mesa EPF. It's a well made if not boilerplate Black Mesa adventure easily accessible to all players. I don't know what EPF stands for. SCMapDB page Author: Mutant Date of release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black Mesa EPF (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 19, 2023 | 5067 characters      Black Mesa EPF is one of the maps that comes with Sven Co-op. It's a very competently made Black Mesa corridor hub action-walkthrough map with a mission system. What does it do that other Black Mesa maps don't? Does it stand out enough to be a default map?      Well, the aforementioned mission system is a sign of where I think this map excels. Even when progress isn't clear, progress is clear enough to find fast. The mission texts and some cutaway scenes help convey what needs to be done next. The hub structure of the m

      Whenever a map comes to a close and transitions to the next map we have a good chance of that next map being Black Mesa EPF. It's a well made if not boilerplate Black Mesa adventure easily accessible to all players. I don't know what EPF stands for. SCMapDB page Author: Mutant Date of release: 2011 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black Mesa EPF (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 19, 2023 | 4060 characters      Here we have a classic, and official, Sven Co-op map where we teleport to Black Mesa and then escape. We fight plenty of aliens, mostly the ones from Opposing Force like pit drones and shock troopers.      Players spawn in on teleport pads and then cross a bridge to a supply room. Weapons and ammo are on big shelves and we have to crouch in them to suck up all the good stuff. Then we go downstairs and fight some stuff. Across the hall is a room that has a security office with an HEV station and a sniper rifle. The map opens up aroun

      Welcome to the wonderful world of colors. There are ten doorways to ten different color coded puzzle/fights and one final boss room. This map has outstanding visuals. SCMapDB page Author: Lemonsoda Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Psyko (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | November 20, 2022 | 4504 characters      Psyko is a psychedelic map for Sven Co-op. It is a contest-winning Sven Co-op 5 official map. Is all this prestige deserved? Let's talk about it!      First off, the gameflow is like this: you begin in a square hub area. On each wall is two doors, as well as two hatches on the floor. These doors open to worlds themed after their corresponding color, and after facing some trials you collect the door's symbol. Collecting the symbol unlocks the next door until every symbol is unlocked and the players proceed to the final arena and win the map.      Combat happens in segmented chambers, often involving wave spawners to wai

      Welcome to the wonderful world of colors. There are ten doorways to ten different color coded puzzle/fights and one final boss room. This map has outstanding visuals. SCMapDB page Author: Lemonsoda Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Psyko (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | November 20, 2022 | 3917 characters      Psyko is a colorful map with ten separate areas with a color theme (green for slime, pink for pigs, light blue for clouds, dark blue for water, etc.) and a final boss battle against the color master. The visuals are striking and really make the themes pop. From start to finish the map is an absolute charm to play and although there is a lot of combat that gets repetitive at times there are also fun puzzles to solve so the gameplay is not one note.      The map is pretty simply designed, players spawn in a room with two doors on each wall and two trap doors in the floor. One door will randomly unlock and players will then clear that

      Auspice (ôspəs), noun, a divine or prophetic token. This is an officially released map for Sven Co-op 3.0 taking place somewhere in Black Mesa with good variety of combat, puzzles, and exploration. Author: Seraph Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Auspices (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | August 18, 2022 | 5266 characters      Auspices is a map that I always dread playing but everybody else seems excited to play. I never protest, because I can never remember why I dread playing Auspices. I usually don't remember much of this map at all.      I was excited, this time, to explore why that may be, as I played to review this map. I think I've figured some things out along the way. Let's cover basics.      First of all, Auspices is not necessarily a map anybody should dread- it's full of fun ideas, a great arsenal, some really action-packed combat, very well brushed and textured, and has some great checkpoints. Before I delve

    Auspice (ôspəs), noun, a divine or prophetic token.  This is an officially released map for Sven Co-op 3.0 taking place somewhere in Black Mesa with good variety of combat, puzzles, and exploration. Author: Seraph Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Auspices (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | August 18, 2022 | 5249 characters      This is yet another Black Mesa map. At this point I'm kind of over Black Mesa themed maps, but the difference with this one is that it is done extremely well and offers pretty good variety.      The map starts players off outside at night, in a military themed area with bunkers, tanks, snipers, and soldiers. The map goes through some Black Mesa themed areas pretty quick, starting with the military exterior, moving to a lab complex of tight hallways, gonomes, alien grunts, and shock troopers, ending in a big fight in a wide open room with soldiers storming in from above. It moves on to some pipes and vents (this m

       Despite the presence of a '2' in the title this map is not a sequel. It consists mostly of vaguely Black Mesa themed areas filled with enemies and long walks. SCMapDB page Author: Penguin Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Assault On Black Mesa 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | August 7, 2022 | 5579 characters      Assault on Black Mesa 2 is a confusingly named two-part slog of a walkthrough series wherein players wade through snarks, turrets, snipers, and grunts while forced most of the time to rely on equipment which does the job half-well. Shoot at great distances with a pistol and some uzis, or drop down on huge clusters of enemies without any crowd-control weapons on-hand. Eventually the map gives you weapons, though sometimes those weapons become dilemmas when checkpoints open a ways past their pickup. Do I return to battle faster to aid my comrade, or do I restock? It would be easier with more people, but the pittance of

      Despite the presence of a '2' in the title this map is not a sequel. It consists mostly of vaguely Black Mesa themed areas filled with enemies and long walks. SCMapDB page Author: Penguin Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Assault On Black Mesa 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | July 7, 2022 | 7830 characters      Assault on Black Mesa 2 (apparently there never was a 1) is an old school Sven map from back in the 2.0 days that definitely plays like an old school map. It also has the problem that plagued many older maps with respawning players walking long distances back to where all the action is happening.      The map set has two maps in it. The first map puts players in a canyon with a truck trailer behind the players and some ammo and green military crates. There are teleporters in the truck trailer and weapons do spawn in the crates as the map progresses. These are good features that show the mapper cares about players, but un

       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 dunkelschwamm | July 17, 2022 | 9968 characters      200 map special wooooo      Sven Coop 2 is the continuation of Sven Coop. It's a mostly linear walkthrough map with a couple puzzles, some combat, a crazy action setpiece at the end, and some wacky design decisions. Here I'll discuss them.      So, what is Sven Coop 2 trying to do with its design? I think it's trying to experiment- show interesting things that can be done in Sven Coop and spur creativity. Design is problem solving, and Sven Coop seeks very much to solve the problem of "How do we broaden what coop gameplay can be when applied to Half-Life's sensibilities?" Sven Coop 2

      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

       There are quite a few maps centered around the gargantua, this particular map has tons of enemies in it yet the gargantua gets all the credit. Players go through teleporters and end up in a big room full of enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg House (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 2320 characters      Garghouse2k is an endless combat map starring a garg, a warehouse (technically a house), an escalating series of events which makes combat more and more complex and intense. First you have a garg running around, then you have bullsquids, then the HECU invade, and then vortigaunts and alien grunts join in the fray- needless to say, things get pretty crazy.      Players spawn in a separated balcony where they can lord over the battle with mutual impunity. However, after jogging through a teleporter the players are thrust into the action on the ground level with the garg. All around the

       There are quite a few maps centered around the gargantua, this particular map has tons of enemies in it yet the gargantua gets all the credit. Players go through teleporters and end up in a big room full of enemies. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2001 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg House (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 3744 characters      Garg House is a horde arena map where players are dumped into an arena filled with respawning aliens, not just the gargantua, and eventually human soldiers as well. The map descript says you go into battle 'well stocked' but that is a lie, the biggest problem in the map was trying to get explosives to take down the gargs.      The map layout is a large simple room. The spawn area is a fenced off section on one side of the room above the chaos, allowing players to see what they are getting themselves into. Each end of the room has a teleporter into the arena with no way to get