Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       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

      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 GrandmasterJ | February 5, 2022 | 4279 characters      I've reviewed quite a few maps on this site, for my 100th map I decided I wanted to try out the original map, the eponymous svencoop1. Don't actually fact check if this review is my 100th, just take my word for it. I didn't quite know what to expect.      To get straight to the point, overall, its good but not amazing. But I'm playing this in 2022, more than 20 years after its release, well past the point where talented mappers have flooded the market with high quality maps. That other review written b

       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 dunkelschwamm | January 29, 2022 | 4677 characters      Garg Pit (or, gargpit) is a map with a very simple purpose: put players in an arena full of respawning gargantuas, and then sell that the victims of this hell are the gargantuas. I think it does that pretty well.      The setup is simple: A donut shaped outdoor arena of immense size houses a central tower with two entrances. Within the tower is the player's spawn: a safe haven away from the hazards of gargantuas or bullsquids. In here a plethora of ammo spawns, as well as HEV and Health flowing from wall chargers as freely as if from Dionysus's own krater. From this oasis the players are able to teleport to one of two elevated positions of their ch

      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

       Persia is a walkthrough map set in a Middle Eastern city with tons of snipers around. There are a lot of enemies on rooftops and hiding around corners making progression tough and tense. SCMapDB page Author: Skacky Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Persia (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 23, 2022 | 4972 characters      Persia has been a Sven Co-op staple going on almost 15 years as of writing this. Does it hold up?      The first thing that you'll notice about Persia is that it's a striking map. There's a very specific theme and atmosphere that is set up early in the map and really manages to maintain until the very end. Along the way there's lots of implied scale, subtle details which enrich the environment without drawing attention, seamless flow from indoor to outdoor scenes, shocking verticality, and some very fun set pieces which do unexpected things with the theme. The textures are all very evocative and t

      Persia is a walkthrough map set in a Middle Eastern city with tons of snipers around. There are a lot of enemies on rooftops and hiding around corners making progression tough and tense. SCMapDB page Author: Skacky Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Persia (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 23, 2022 | 4567 characters      Persia is a great looking map with solid combat and a lot of platforming. There are no new spawn points so all the good parts of the map are interrupted on death with the same platforming sequence again and again.     The map is supposed to look middle eastern and it totally does. I feel like in some maps set in the middle east it always looks like a warzone but this map felt more like Prince of Persia. The buildings were large and imposing with those fun stylized windows like you see in Aladdin. There was a really nicely made tank in the beginning and lots of sandbags, but I never felt like I was in a warzone, mor

       In this map players take on the role of activists and attempt to free animals from being experimented on. One of the objectives states "DON'T release a deadly plague" but you can ignore that since it's required to complete the map. SCMapDB page Author: Frel Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Activist (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 21, 2022 | 4491 characters      Activist is a very well made action mapset by Frel. It features a story which works as a very loose context for what's happening, but it isn't really necessary for the full enjoyment of the map. That is because the map itself is very straight-forward.      Fight your way through a biogenetics(?) laboratory in order to free the animals- and then kill the animals! Play as the worst animal rights activist ecoterrorists on the face of the planet as you murder your way into the complex, release biotoxins, fight and kill the very mutated animals you

      In this map players take on the role of activists and attempt to free animals from being experimented on. One of the objectives states "DON'T release a deadly plague" but you can ignore that since it's required to complete the map. SCMapDB page Author: Frel Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Activist (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 21, 2022 | 4995 characters      Activist is a map that has two objectives. One of the objectives is to NOT release a deadly plague. From the very beginning I suspected that we had to unleash a biohazardous threat as a matter of course to complete the map.      The map starts players off in a well stocked armory with shotgun, uzi, and mp5 plus bullets and shells. Right from the get go it has plenty of ammo to start players off with and there are resupply points periodically throughout the map. Players are never given more weapons, but HEV and ammo are given generously. At least the amo

       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

      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

       There are a lot of really cool and interesting things done in this map that are not found in other maps like having an open world, player classes, and non-linear objectives. Some mechanics work better than others but it all comes together to make a truly unique map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Search N Destroy (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 8, 2022 | 6589 characters      Search n Destroy is an objective based control point map which takes place in a desert-y setting reminiscent of Counter Strike's Dust maps with Opposing Forces grunts as the main enemies. To complete the map the players must plant C4 on several enemy weapons caches, find weapons throughout the map and return them to the base, conquer and defend 4 control points, and finally defend the spawn base from an enemy attack. During the offense portion of this you must also contend with grunts being dropped off by respawning Osprey

      There are a lot of really cool and interesting things done in this map that are not found in other maps like having an open world, player classes, and non-linear objectives. Some mechanics work better than others but it all comes together to make a truly unique map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Search N Destroy (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 9, 2022 | 5763 characters      I like the idea of this map. Players start in a military base on the outskirts of a large middle eastern town. There are 6 piles of crates to destroy and four areas you have to capture. The gameplay is a scavenger hunt to find the objectives and also the four unlockable weapons.      When the map first starts out players spawn in a room with instructions and difficulty voting buttons. Any difficulty higher than the lowest has a cap on respawns and let me say I can not imagine playing this map without infinite respawns. There is

       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