Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      Zombie Pit is one of those maps where the name really says it all. Maybe the name left out the lava and the fact that there is a teleporter out of the pit but that's about all that the name leaves out. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of final release: 2000 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Zombie Pit (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 14, 2022 | 1263 characters      Zombie pit is a very small map where players start above a pit that does not have zombies until a player jumps down. I don't know if the zombies spawn endlessly from that point on, or if the zombies spawn every time a player jumps down. There is lava in the pit that zombies and headcrabs can fall into and then players can't really see them or go down in there so the monsters just sit in the lava preventing more zombies from spawning in. I think they zombies do respawn when a player jumps down because they respawned right when my teammate jumped down after me. In the pit the...

       Let me just say right off the bat that this map has nothing to do with arcades. It's really just another Black Mesa map style-wise and a scavenger hunt gameplay-wise.  SCMapDB page Authors: Streamfox and RNG Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Arcad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 14, 2022 | 2976 characters      Arcad is a couple of maps by Streamfox and RNG. The first sees players fight their way through a military base lightly peppered with alien invaders, followed up by a pretty straightforward romp through an alien-infested bunker/engineering facility.      The first map struggles to form much of an identity outside of cargo holds and hallways. Most of the map felt samey, but featured fun (if easy) combat with lots of ammo and an ever-expanding arsenal. I think its most memorable bits are point-and-click reminiscent puzzles featuring finding parts to build explosives, repairi...

      Let me just say right off the bat that this map has nothing to do with arcades. It's really just another Black Mesa map style-wise and a scavenger hunt gameplay-wise.  SCMapDB page Authors: Streamfox and RNG Date of final release: 2010 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Arcad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 14, 2022 | 4824 characters      On the surface Arcad looks like a very generic map that looks like Black Mesa. For the most part, that aesthetic pervades the whole first map but the second map is much more visually interesting. This leads to making the rooms all look the same, but objectives are well marked for the most part so players always know where to go, for the most part. There were definitely times where the means of progression was hard to find and led to a lot of jumping around and poking heads into dark corners.      The first map starts off looking pretty bland and stays that way the whole time. At...

       The map works exactly as described, first players must attack and then players must defend. The secret to attacking is finding the small black boxes with red lights on them and destroying them. The secret to defending is to hold on to your butts! SCMapDB page Author: NIPPER Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Attack & Defend (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 8, 2022 | 3902 characters      Attack & Defend is a classic Sven Co-op map, going on almost 18 years old as of writing this. It was made by Nipper, an absolutely prolific mapper known for high quality, high quantity output.      This map is simple: you attack, and then you defend. Players start in a safe spawn cave with two exits into the battle. Players progress by destroying multiple red-light boxes on the fences which block progression. When each box is destroyed, the fence falls allowing forward movement. All the while, ...

      The map works exactly as described, first players must attack and then players must defend. The secret to attacking is finding the small black boxes with red lights on them and destroying them. The secret to defending is to hold on to your butts! SCMapDB page Author: NIPPER Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Attack & Defend (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 8, 2022 | 4941 characters      I love Attack Defend. I used to play it a lot back in the day and when I got a say in what the next map would be I would say this one. The map is frenetic action through and through. It completely embodies what I remember as the best part of old school Sven Co-op, crazy chaotic action with a bunch of people.      The map starts off with players attacking a fortified hill. There is a trench at the top with two bunkers in the hill below, charging the trench at the top requires running past these bunkers whi...

        Kozmic  Chenbox is a small box with piles of crowbars (reskinned to be katanas) and PVP. Large pictures of an anime catgirl line the walls and there is some music as well. SCMapDBPage Author: Gruntzz Date of final release: 2022 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Kozmic  Chenbox (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | May 8, 2022 | 3687 characters      Kozmic is, as I understand, the first map of 2022. Mazel tov.      Kozmic is a silly little box map with images (some animated, with notable quality and fluidity) from an anime that I am simply not familiar with. I admit, I am not the target audience for this map. I invite anybody who is more familiar with the anime to question my credentials regarding this map. However, I think if these were images of characters I AM familiar with, in similar contexts, I wouldn't regard this map much differently. Again, I invite anybody to question my credentials, as I p...

        Kozmic  Chenbox is a small box with piles of crowbars (reskinned to be katanas) and PVP. Large pictures of an anime catgirl line the walls and there is some music as well. SCMapDBPage Author: Gruntzz Date of final release: 2022 Maps in package: 1 Map review of  Kozmic  Chenbox (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | May 8, 2022 | 2339 characters      I'm not a fan of PVP in Sven Co-op, I just don't think that's what the game is about. I'm a fan of sometimes having friendly fire on though. This map is a box with friendly fire on it, there is some art of an anime character I don't know the name of (I would guess Kozmic?), some music, and some respawning crowbars reskinned to look like katanas.      The level design is minimal, the decoration doesn't appeal to me and also the pictures will disappear if you get to close to them, it's weird. Its not inspired and its not a great arena. But after stabbi...

      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 dunkelschwamm | April 24, 2022 | 4599 characters      APC Rally is an older walkthrough action map. At a glance, the map looks pretty hastily brushed together and lit for an outdoor canyon, but the gameplay at front and center shines through.      The conceit of APC Rally is that players maneuver a large drivable APC through obstacles, intermittently abandoning it to complete an objective which clears up a roadblock. Func_vehicles are notoriously chunky and easily kill players, but APC Rally designs around this by making the map about absurd action and weapons. While p...

      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 b...

       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 ac...

       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 tele...

       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 t...

      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 imme...

       Only Fun contains zombies and a Big Momma and has little, if any, fun. The spawn points are also placed poorly causing players to die on spawn quite a lot. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Only Fun (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 23, 2022 | 2011 characters      Only Fun is a quintessentially Robootto Robootto map. It hits all of the hallmarks: it's not fun, when you realize what the gimmick is you question whether Robootto legitimately hates the players, it's painfully ugly to look at, and the overall feeling when you're done is that you have wasted your precious time which can never ever be returned.      Players begin in a chamber which connects to a winding same-textured corridor maze full of Barneys. At the opposite end of this corridor is the secondary spawnpoint, which supplies players with tripmines and a gauss rifle. Back at the other chamber...

      Only Fun contains zombies and a Big Momma and has little, if any, fun. The spawn points are also placed poorly causing players to die on spawn quite a lot. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2003 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Only Fun (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | April 23, 2022 | 2002 characters      Only Fun promises much, but delivers little.      There are three spawn areas in the map. At first my teammate and I both spawned in the top one, there was no indication on how to get out so we ran around hitting everything with our crowbars. Eventually the floor gave out and we fell to the level below, which happens to be where our second spawn point was. Here was a doorway to a green room with many headcrab zombies and a gonarch. The only weapons in the level are at the third spawn point, which is far above the elevator past a twisting passageway full of passive Barneys. The end of this hallway ter...

      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 p...

      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....

       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 apache...

      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. ...

       This map is a remake of the first level of the classic FPS Wolfenstein 3D built as a map in Sven Co-op. The level layout itself is mostly accurate with only tiny details added but the enemy composition and weapons is all standard Half-Life stuff. SCMapDB page Author: $kud Date of final release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Wolfenstein 3D Level 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 17, 2022 | 2605 characters      Wolf3dlvl1 is a remake of the groundbreaking E1M1 of Wolfenstein 3D, also known as Level 1. E1M1 of Wolf3d was the first experience many had in 1992 of 256-color first-person gameplay with characters resembling humans- and we blew their nazi brains out.      Wolf3dlvl1 takes Wolfenstein 3D's mechanics and massages them to create a more enjoyable experience when the level is transitioned into Sven Co-op. For example: there are more enemies now, and those enemies are far more capable than the bro...