Sven Co-op Map Reviews

    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

       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

           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

       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