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Afrika Corps Bonus - GrandmasterJ

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      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

Afrika Corps - Dunkelschwamm

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       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

Afrika Korps - GrandmasterJ

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      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

Metsa0 - Dunkelschwamm

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       This map appears to be the opening sequence of a larger map set. Players spawn in the back of a truck, trapped with no hope of escape. If a player noclips out and uses a certain section of the truck's front bumper the truck will move to the other end of the tunnel it is in. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Metsa0 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 20, 2022 | 2308 characters      Metsa is, I speculate, an unfinished idea for a map. Perhaps it was an inspired narrative idea, to have several players driven, confined by a cage, in a truck through a jungle toward the next map as his version of the Half-Life tram ride intro. But, that's all entirely speculation.      I figured I would begin my review with speculation because there's little else to go on. The map is clearly broken. Players spawn in the back of a truck, as described above. However, there's nothing pushing the truck forward.

Metsa0 - GrandmasterJ

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      This map appears to be the opening sequence of a larger map set. Players spawn in the back of a truck, trapped with no hope of escape. If a player noclips out and uses a certain section of the truck's front bumper the truck will move to the other end of the tunnel it is in. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of final release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Metsa0 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 20, 2022 | 1320 characters      Players spawn trapped in the back of a truck. There is a gauss cannon here but nothing else. It is very boring and there is nothing to do.      Noclipping out of the truck reveals a long hallway. There are explosives on the sides that trigger enemies when they explode. It was only after my teammate persisted in trying to get the truck to move that the truck did actually start to move. Apparently he used the back bumper and that worked, the truck started moving. We tried getting the truck to move while inside it but that p

Baron of Snipe - Dunkelschwamm

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       This map is a fortress facing another fortress with infinitely spawning snipers. The player fortress has crossbows and sniper rifles along with plenty of ammo for both. There is no end to the map, just snipe the snipers. SCMapDB page Author: tweak Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Baron Of Snipe (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 2718 characters      The concept here is simple: place the players in a fortified position and equip them with sniper rifles and crossbows to pick off advancing waves of assassins and the snipers at the opposite building. While advancing a bit is possible, it's inadvisable as any upward movement will quickly place a player right on top of respawning enemy territory without any viable close-quarters options. Still, advancing can be a bit fun to see how far in you can move with friends covering you with sniper support from the safety of spawn.      There isn't a whole lot more to say ab

Baron of Snipe - GrandmasterJ

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      This map is a fortress facing another fortress with infinitely spawning snipers. The player fortress has crossbows and sniper rifles along with plenty of ammo for both. There is no end to the map, just snipe the snipers. SCMapDB page Author: tweak Date of final release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Baron Of Snipe (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 2388 characters      Baron of Snipe is a very simple sniping horde map. Players start in a fortress and on the other side of the map is a building with plenty of windows that is just oozing snipers. There is a large dump of sniper rifles, crossbows, and plenty of ammo for both. Players start with pistols and medkits but there is nothing else in the map, no pistol ammo, no health, no HEV.      My biggest complaint would probably be that male assassins routinely run forward, open the door to the player base, and waltz right in. I think we need to constantly snipe them to prevent that from happeni

Metal Bar - Dunkelschwamm

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       Metal Bar is a reference to a genre of music and a drinking establishment, not a material and an object. This map features two bars with speakers blasting some heavy metal with very low quality audio. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto and RNG Date of final release: 2006 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Metal Bar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3757 characters      Metal Bar is a map by Robootto and RNG. The map is intended to be a fun map for people to chill out on in a server. I feel like the environment of a metal bar is evoked shockingly well in both Robootto's and RNG's bars. I really like these Robootto maps with RNG coauthoring. I feel like RNG really brought the best out of Robootto.      The map takes place in a sort of outdoor strip mall type of location with lots of palm trees. To the left is Ixa's metal bar. I presume this metal bar is the one which Robootto mostly made, based on part of the description describing the secr

Metal Bar - GrandmasterJ

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      Metal Bar is a reference to a genre of music and a drinking establishment, not a material and an object. This map features two bars with speakers blasting some heavy metal with very low quality audio. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto and RNG Date of final release: 2006 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Metal Bar (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 3682 characters      I've played enough maps made by Robootto to know I'm probably not going to have a good time. But RNG also helped make this map, and his maps are amazing. RNG's influence is probably a big reason why I think this map is one of Robootto's best maps.      The map design is simple, start off in a small park with a couple doors. One door is locked up tight and never opens, another leads to a small guitar store, and the other leads to the first metal bar of the map. The map description says there are two, its pretty difficult to find the second one and I would never have looked

Affliction - Dunkelschwamm

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       Affliction is a standalone mod converted to Sven Co-op set in Black Mesa. There are a lot of maps for Sven with the same story, this one is fairly standard. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: Toni Hiltunen Conversion authors: Outerbeast Date of original mod release: 2002 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Affliction (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3871 characters      Affliction is a Half-Life mod which was converted and updated, here, for Sven Co-op. This conversion features two maps which seem to combine the maps of the original mod at teleport points. The maps still feel mostly balanced for a single player, with fire fights coming in short, easy bursts often. The levels, for taking place almost entirely in interior settings, feel open and breezy, with breakable glass partitions allowing the interior spaces to breathe even more. Mix in some scripted peaceful NPC interactions and a cinematic opening sequen

Affliction - GrandmasterJ

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      Affliction is a standalone mod converted to Sven Co-op set in Black Mesa. There are a lot of maps for Sven with the same story, this one is fairly standard. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: Toni Hiltunen Conversion authors: Outerbeast Date of original mod release: 2002 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Affliction (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 3285 characters      This map set started off on a really cool car crash that send players down into a tunnel. It's a fun scripted event. Unfortunately survival mode is on by default. I usually turn that off when I play, the first map was fine, there was only one death between my teammate and I. The second map however has some brutal poison followed by a heavy weapons grunt which killed us a lot, making disabling survival mode a must. My first death on this map set was from climbing inside a destroyed computer, the bottom of the computer was concave and I was fa

Aerodock 1 - Dunkelschwamm

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       Aerodock has an interesting visual aesthetic, relying heavily on Xen textures. The map is supposedly set in space, in some sort of aerodock, but the inclusion of mundane furniture and features muddies the concept. To the best of my knowledge there is no Aerodock 2. SCMapDB page Author: tsy_4 Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Aerodock 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 19, 2022 | 3526 characters      Aerodock-1 is a walkthrough map with plenty of backtracking, fun combat segments, and garish visuals. Set in some kind of space cargo barge, Aerodock-1 sees players battling all kinds of aliens and humans alike as they unlock parts of the ship using keycards and destructible shield generators. Players spawn with the handgun, the 357, and the MP5. Over the course of the map, their arsenal grows proportional to their progress, even including the barnacle.      The map starts on the wrong foot out the gate, with robogrunts swarming sp

Aerodock 1 - GrandmasterJ

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      Aerodock has an interesting visual aesthetic, relying heavily on Xen textures. The map is supposedly set in space, in some sort of aerodock, but the inclusion of mundane furniture and features muddies the concept. To the best of my knowledge there is no Aerodock 2. SCMapDB page Author: tsy_4 Date of final release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Aerodock 1 (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 19, 2022 | 4389 characters      The screenshots for this map looked very intriguing and I started this map with high hopes. The map was decent, it had good combat, decent supply, and some very confusing visuals that blended together.      Players spawn in what appears to be a hangar of some sort. I started this map knowing it was supposed to be some sort of aero dock which is the only reason I thought that room was supposed to be a hangar. The level geometry is simple and strange. Most rooms have one texture for walls, floor, and ceiling, making them look flat. The

Aerial Contact - Dunkelschwamm

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       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 - GrandmasterJ

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      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 - Dunkelschwamm

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       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 - GrandmasterJ

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      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

Sv Mountain - Dunkelschwamm

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      Sv Mountain is the first map made by the author, it combines platforming with some combat. Players must scale the outside of a mountain and clear some rooms inside the mountain. SCMapDB page Author: SV BOY Date of final release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sv Mountain (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 18, 2022 | 5605 characters      Mountain is a platforming-centric map wherein players climb a mountain, navigate tiny cliff edges, move through vent hell, and fight in a xen arena. Some of it is somewhat effective and charming in a beginner's fashion (this is, apparently, the first map by its author, SV BOY) though most of it is the kind of "challenging" that reminds me a bit of troll games of the '00s and the '10s. This isn't an attitude that is novel in Sven maps, as troll-ish nature is prevalent especially in platforming maps, it's just something to be aware of.      The player ascends a very block-shaped mountain v

Sv Mountain - GrandmasterJ

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      Sv Mountain is the first map made by the author, it combines platforming with some combat. Players must scale the outside of a mountain and clear some rooms inside the mountain. SCMapDB page Author: SV BOY Date of final release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Sv Mountain (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 18, 2022 | 4800 characters      Sv-mountain is a map that focuses heavily on jumping around the exterior of a large rectangular mountain. I'm not a fan of first person platforming so this didn't really appeal to me. I will say up front that I had to cheat my way through the map, my teammate who is much better at platforming than I agreed we had to in order to finish. By the way, what kind of maniac names their bsp file sv-mountain? We use underscores here, not dashes.      The map starts players off in a small blocky encampment next to a big block of rock that stands in for the mountain. Right off the bat the architecture is blocky and rudim

Galleon - Dunkelschwamm

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       Galleon is a converted Counter-Strike map with enemies and some weapons scattered around. There are quite a few Counter-Strike map conversions but it is so nice to see one that's not meant for PVP. SCMapDB page Original mod authors: PhantomLord Conversion authors: kmkz Date of original mod release: 2001 Date of final Sven Map release: 2017 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Galleon (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 13, 2022 | 3456 characters      Galleon is, if I understand correctly, a conversion of a Counter-Strike map littered with enemies and scripted weapons. The scripted weapons act much like Counter-Strike weapons and include such hits as: the Mac-10, the AK-47, the Famas, the Fiveseven, the Deagle, the Knife, the P90, and some wonky-ass grenades. The enemies compose mostly of BlackOps snipers, HECU grunts, Heavy Weapons guys, assassins, robogrunts, Otises, and Barnies.      The map begins with the players on the other side of some harbor buildi