Sven Co-op Map Reviews

       Apache Battle 3 is the third and final part (remake?) or the Apache Battle series. This version boasts a canyon, multi-story spawn area, and a turret that is actually useful. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 3067 characters      Apache Battle 3 is the third in an unnecessarily long line of maps which repeatedly ask the question: is fighting a seemingly neverending onslaught of apaches with clunky mounted turrets while woefully underequipped fun? I say unnecessarily long line because it seems each map comes to the same answer: eh, not particularly.      Like the previous maps, Apache Battle starts with the players in a base where they can grant themselves some limited equipment and stock up on HEV before facing the apache hell which awaits outside. This map has the most interesting take on the spawn base, though, as instead of being a real

      Apache Battle 3 is the third and final part (remake?) or the Apache Battle series. This version boasts a canyon, multi-story spawn area, and a turret that is actually useful. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 3 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 24, 2022 | 2349 characters      The Apache Battle maps are the same concept, killing respawning apache helicopters in an arena. The arena is somewhat similar between maps with this version having the most complex arena. There is a chasm in the middle, a narrow intact bridge and a broken wide bridge are the only ways across. On the other side is a platform with a missile turret on it, this is almost mandatory to have any chance against the apache.      The spawn area has been expanded but still has pretty much the same supplies as the first two maps, grenades, shotguns and shells, and HEV. The HEV is immensely useful but the shotgun is no help agai

      Apache Battle 2 is a slightly improved version of Apache Battle. The arena has been revamped, there are weapons now that still aren't very useful, and the helicopters don't respawn forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 1688 characters      Apache Battle 2 is like Apache Battle 1, but with a few seemingly minor changes that make a lot of difference.      The map revolves around battling apaches using meager ammo, prompting mad sprints across a mostly coverless battlefield to a huge mounted gun to target the apaches. All the while, grunts harass with grenades and superior firepower.      This differs from the previous map by giving the player grenades, shotguns, a teleporter to a useless ridge that they must jump off of, and better HEV chargers than last time. This buys it some points, but I think the HEV is largely wasted on the

      Apache Battle 2 is a slightly improved version of Apache Battle. The arena has been revamped, there are weapons now that still aren't very useful, and the helicopters don't respawn forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle 2 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 2446 characters      I played Apache Battle right before playing this one and I thought it was terrible. The sequel was an official map way back in the Sven Co-op 1.3 release so I thought it would be much improved. Instead, it has only marginally improved.      My major complaint about the first map is the lack of weapons to deal with the threats, this is a trend that continues in the officially released sequel. There are grenades in the spawn area, a shotgun on the roof and in full view of the eponymous Apache, and some HEV chargers on the wall in addition to the HEV batteries. There is one box of shotgun shells

       Apache Battle is an arena map where players are expected to take down an Apache Helicopter. There is nothing else to the map, take down the helicopter and another appears, forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 1978 characters      Apache Battle is one of those earliest maps that remind you that there was a point in time where every aspect of Half-Life was extremely novel. Players spawn in a room which gives basic equipment. If there's meant to be some extra weaponry given, it no longer is. The player gets a pistol clip and is jutted into the a world of respawning grunts and apaches. The goal seems to be to run across the battlefield using sheer numbers and the trickle-fed HEV batteries to survive gunfire from the apaches to reach a large mounted gun which is then used by the players to engage the apaches in a game of attrition. Whom

      Apache Battle is an arena map where players are expected to take down an Apache Helicopter.  There is nothing else to the map, take down the helicopter and another appears, forever. SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 1999 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Apache Battle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 1798 characters      This map is an arena map where players fight Apache helicopters. This is not an uncommon idea but this particular execution felt incredibly lacking. I don't know if there is a missing .cfg file or if the original mapper intended for the players to only have the pistol to defend ourselves, but it sucked.      The map layout is simple, players start in a room with enough HEV batteries to fill up one player, good luck to everybody else. There are some unbreakable boxes in a corner and a ladder up to the roof and an even higher point with nothing on it and no cover. Two doors on buttons lead outside. Outside is

           On first glance Sector E is another bland retread of Black Mesa, but on actually playing it it feels much different. The map looks great, plays well, and includes small details that make it stand out from the plethora of Black Mesa themed maps. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Sector E (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 16, 2022 | 4535 characters      To be perfectly honest when I saw Sector E I groaned, it was yet another Black Mesa themed map. But right on map start it had a different quality about it. I've played a few of this author's, Keen's, other maps and he definitely has a habit of stuffing many details into his maps, Sector E is no exception.      Sector E drops players into Black Mesa with a very vague and uninspired storyline, you are part of a military force going into Black Mesa and extracting Gordon Freeman for some reason. The other military forces do not know about your mis

         On first glance Sector E is another bland retread of Black Mesa, but on actually playing it it feels much different. The map looks great, plays well, and includes small details that make it stand out from the plethora of Black Mesa themed maps. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Sector E (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 16, 2022 | 3642 characters      Sector E is a large walkthrough series of maps by prolific Sven Co-op mapper Keen. It follows the Black Mesa theme, though does interesting things with it throughout. Each map is decently lengthy and packed full of action.      That's first thing I want to talk about: the action. I feel like Sector E manages multi-faction monster battles better than any other Sven map I've played up to this point. Sector E manages battles cinematically, while still making them feel natural and dropping the player into the middle of massive firefights while giving t

       Another Unit is an official Sven Co-op map release, it's flavored in typical Black Mesa aesthetic and presented from the HECU perspective. SCMapDB page Author: B-dama Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Another Unit (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 26, 2022 | 4594 characters      Another Unit is a map by B-dama which comes default with Sven Co-op. It is a standard walkthrough map, with lots of mixed alien combat and fighting with Barnies, turrets, and robogrunts.      First thing you'll notice when playing this map is that it looks rather good. It has a lot of the same aesthetic that Black Mesa style maps usually do- industrial, mostly subterranean concrete brutalist corporatism. However, it also has that look that's a little past the generation of Half-Life's original graphics, with more ambitious brushwork and scale. Everything in this map looks good, is decently well lit, and every location in the first half of t

      Another Unit is an official Sven Co-op map release, it's flavored in typical Black Mesa aesthetic and presented from the HECU perspective. SCMapDB page Author: B-dama Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Another Unit (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 26, 2022 | 4129 characters      Another Unit is an official map and it shows. The level architecture is beautiful. Everything is detailed and would look at home right alongside levels in the original Half-Life.      Players spawn right off the bat with a shotgun, mp5, full ammo for both, and 40 armor. This means players don't have to rearm when respawning. The map starts off with two long hallways side by side with turrets everywhere. You have to toss a grenade in the booth with the evil Barney to open the door, then you can use the big unlock machine to open up the doors at the far end of the hallway. Going through the hologram walls triggers barricades to rise up and robo grunts

       There really isn't much of anything for players to do but watch baby gargs play football. They do play it, they play slow and stupid, but they are still actually playing the game, its amazing! SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Football (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 5, 2022 | 2006 characters      Garg Football is a map that asks not what a good Half-Life or Sven Co-op level could be, but what MORE could be done with the mechanics and tools provided by these devkits? The answer is obvious: gambling on big beefy aliens playing footie.      Two gargs bat around a "ball" with their tremendous feets and two goalies attempt to also kick the "ball" and their positioning via clever clipping makes their kicks look aimed and intentional. Whenever the ball passes through the goal post a scoreboard is updated to reflect the point.      If I recall correctly (and I probably don

      There really isn't much of anything for players to do but watch baby gargs play football. They do play it, they play slow and stupid, but they are still actually playing the game, its amazing! SCMapDB page Author: Mad Jonesy Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Garg Football (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | March 5, 2022 | 2316 characters      Garg football is a fun and charming game of football, the soccer kind of football, between two two-garg teams. It's amazing how well it works. It's definitely not perfect, but the gargs do try to kick the ball and more often than not, it goes towards the goal. The gargs do have a tendency to kick the ball as soon as they run up to it, usually towards their own goal and in one instance a garg in my server did score a goal for the opposing team, but they also have an equal chance of running past the ball and coming at it from the correct direction. The fact that it worked at all amazes me. T

       Afrika Korps is a map series about fighting Nazis under General Rommel out of Northern Africa. This bonus mission is more of the same thing. The gameplay is exactly the same. SCMapDB page Author: MysticMDT and SiC Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Afrika Korps Bonus (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 20, 2022 | 2649 characters      Afrika Korps Bonus is exactly what it says on the tin: a bonus map for those who liked Afrika Korps. It feels a lot like Afrika Korps' second map, in that it's just a straight level of the mapset's iconic objectives rehashed in another formation. It sort of reminds me of those Zelda Rom Randomizers that people get that mix up the Zelda dungeons. This is like a mixed up version of Map 2 from Afrika Korps.      For those who don't know Afrika Korps as a mapset, it's a WW2 themed objective-walkthrough mapset prioritizing stealing documents and destroying German tanks, radios, and weap

      Afrika Korps is a map series about fighting Nazis under General Rommel out of Northern Africa. This bonus mission is more of the same thing. The gameplay is exactly the same. SCMapDB page Author: MysticMDT and SiC Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Afrika Korps Bonus (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 20, 2022 | 1679 characters      Afrikakorps Bonus should probably be included in the main Afrikakorps map set. It's really similar to the first and second main Afrikakorps maps and blends right together with them. The objectives are set up the same exact way, destroy targets, steal documents. The weapons are the same, the arsenal does not grow in the Bonus Mission. Curiously, there is a rocket launcher in this map, but like the other Afrikakorps maps it too will disappear when somebody grabs it. Just like the other maps I died after I picked it up and nobody got to use it at all. It's so incredibly disappointing every time it

       Journey to Northern Africa during World War II and challenge the German occupiers under Rommel. It's somewhat hard to tell this is a WWII themed map, probably due to the lack of swastikas everywhere. SCMapDB page Author: MysticMDT Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Afrika Korps (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 20, 2022 | 4405 characters      Afrika Korps is a classic Sven Co-op scenario set in a WWII setting. Shoot nazis, blow up their tanks, blow up their guns, steal their documents, blow up their radios, blow up their radars, and then shoot nazis some more. That's the name of the game. Expect to use the handgun, revolver, crowbar, grenades, MP5 (sans sight), sniper rifle, and rocket launcher (sans laser).      This mapset consists of three maps. You could think of them as a training map, the actual level, and a boss battle. The first map slowly introduces the player to the types of combat and missions they'll be e

      Journey to Northern Africa during World War II and challenge the German occupiers under Rommel. It's somewhat hard to tell this is a WWII themed map, probably due to the lack of swastikas everywhere. SCMapDB page Author: MysticMDT Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 3 Map review of Afrika Korps (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 20, 2022 | 5293 characters      Afrikakorps is a map I don't have fond memories of. Maybe it was my computer, but I remember the map being glitchy and lagging a ton. I was wrong, it was an overall nice experience.      The map starts off going room to room clearing Nazis. There are weapon replacements and even a little scripting to turn the mp5 into a tommy gun. The Nazi enemy models and the guns really helped bring the map together, although I do think the generic HECU grunt chatter that the Nazis used was a little jarring. Really nicely detailed tanks dot the map and look very impressive.      The map is very comb

       Aerial Contact is a reimagining of the classic map series Apache Battle. Five Apache helicopters will assault the player and all five must be destroyed to win the map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Aerial Contact (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3324 characters      Aerial Contact is a map that takes a strange approach to a simple concept: fight five apaches, one after the other, from a secure complex while grunts and male assassins harass from afar. The assassins and grunts respawn endlessly, while the apaches only respawn enough times for you to fight five before the map rather abruptly ends in fanfareless victory for the players.      One of the main features of the map is two large turrets. One is situated in the fortified complex in which the players spawn- this turret is a big machinegun which turns at a glacial pace. Across from the fortress there is a rocketlauncher turret whic

      Aerial Contact is a reimagining of the classic map series Apache Battle. Five Apache helicopters will assault the player and all five must be destroyed to win the map. SCMapDB page Author: Hezus Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Aerial Contact (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 2522 characters      The map concept is simple, kill apache helicopters. The spawn area is at the bottom floor of a tower along with a door to the outside, a tiny bit of HEV and ammo, and a ladder up. The middle floor has a glass window that will instantly be shattered by the apache shooting inside. There is a shotgun and grenades along with some trip mines here. There is also a gun turret that is so very slow, I find it useless. The third level has unbreakable glass, a magnum with some ammo, and the button to open the door at the bottom floor. This door will close slowly both setting a time limit on getting out and ensuring players can not retur

       Mega Monster Massacre is a monster hunt type of map where the monsters have weird custom models and weird names. This map was one of, if not the, first map to implement the gameplay of having a large wide open area and only a handful of high-powered monsters. SCMapDB page Author: DeathBog Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Mega Monster Massacre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 5146 characters      Mega Monster Massacre is a classic Sven Co-op map that I remember finding a bit of a tedious grind and not very fun. As of my recent playthrough with a friend, however, of V3, I would say that Mega Monster Massacre is actually a really fun experience full of fantastic set pieces.      The concept is simple: you are given an MP5 and a Shotgun, both with tons of ammo, and are thrust into an alien planet where locations open up as you clear out hostile "mega monsters" from interesting locations. Throughout your adven

      Mega Monster Massacre is a monster hunt type of map where the monsters have weird custom models and weird names. This map was one of, if not the, first map to implement the gameplay of having a large wide open area and only a handful of high-powered monsters. SCMapDB page Author: DeathBog Date of final release: 2008 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Mega Monster Massacre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 3639 characters      This is a map that I played a long time ago and I remember not liking it. I'm pleasantly surprised to say this impression is completely wrong and I had a great time playing it again.      The goal of the map is simple, kill monsters. Areas are blocked off and as monsters are killed the areas open up. The monsters are weird looking and have a ton of health while also dealing a ton of damage. If you get hit once you will explode. Monsters are usually very fast too, so a lot of the time the best option is to run backwards sh