Sven Co-op Map Reviews

      If you are looking for a lengthy cooperative experience with a friend then you could do a lot worse than this map. It may be a bit generic, it is called 'Big Coop Map' after all but the title is accurate and its not bad. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Big Coop Map (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 11, 2023 | 4947 characters      Here's a map that does exactly as described, this is a big cooperative map. We have our standard Half-Life 1 themed facility walkthrough map but with a bit of a twist.      The first area is a fairly straightforward affair, an outside approach to a door with a ton of turrets around. We start with just mp5s but unlock weapons later. There is a shipping container that will start to spawn underbarrel grenades and a rocket launcher later. The first hint that the map is a bit off is when we get to the big segmented door at the end, and instead of the top sliding u

      There really isn't any large male genitalia in this map. There is a small pixelated depiction of that but it's not the same. Besides that, hang out on a sandy island and hang out in the dance tent or hot tub. Edit: 2/20/2023: Shortly after we wrote our reviews, this map was removed from the database. The reason cited was the map's inclusion, in its entirety, in another map (Secret Lounge). Also the author credit is wrong. This review will be kept for posterity, including the incorrect author credit and broken link to a map page that no longer exists. SCMapDB page Author:Boxes Date of release:Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Big Penis (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 11, 2023 | 1555 characters      Big Penis is a hangout map for Sven Co-op. It creates a quaint island setting complete with a jacuzzi, tent, porta potty, towel robot, boombox, torches, and campfire. The boombox inside of the tent, as well as a portable light, are int

      There really isn't any large male genitalia in this map. There is a small pixelated depiction of that but it's not the same. Besides that, hang out on a sandy island and hang out in the dance tent or hot tub. Edit: 2/20/2023: Shortly after we wrote our reviews, this map was removed from the database. The reason cited was the map's inclusion, in its entirety, in another map (Secret Lounge). Also the author credit is wrong. This review will be kept for posterity, including the incorrect author credit and broken link to a map page that no longer exists.  SCMapDB page Author: Boxes Date of release: Unknown Maps in package: 1 Map review of Big Penis (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 11, 2023 | 1714 characters      For everybody looking for a big penis in this map, sorry to break the news like this, but there isn't any. The map description does warn of a porn room but it's weird old man penis. Anyway, the whole map is an island and the

      This map is not just Duck Hunt, it also has a Frogger section as well. Snipe aliens out of the air on one side of the map and dodge fast cars in another. SCMapDB page Author: LentoMan Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Retrohunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 4, 2023 | 2940 characters      Retrohunt is a map for Sven Co-op which aims to provide two minigames based on classic retro games Duck Hunt and Frogger.      Players begin in a stylish lobby which is Duck Hunt on one side and Frogger on the other, each with a teleporter leading to their respective game. It's an intuitive lobby and shows right away what kind of attraction you're in for. That said, unaware that Frogger would be the featured game, I took the Frogger environment to possibly be Hogan's Alley, which I consider a more comparable pairing for Duck Hunt.      The Frogger minigame is a bit chaotic, but not impossible to master. Players must cross fo

    This map is not just Duck Hunt, it also has a Frogger section as well. Snipe aliens out of the air on one side of the map and dodge fast cars in another. SCMapDB page Author: LentoMan Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Retrohunt (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 4, 2023 | 2792 characters      Retrohunt is not only a version of Duck Hunt remade for Sven Co-op, but it is also Frogger. Player start off in a room that is half dark alley and half bright NES hunting ground each with a teleporter.      In the Frogger side of things players are dropped onto a narrow sidewalk with four lanes of fast cars speeding by. When I first went through my teammate telefragged me by using the teleporter right behind me, so watch out for that. Actually crossing the road is an ordeal, as the cars are fast, deadly, and don't appear in an easily timed intervals as their speeds can change.      Getting across the road (and the floating platforms, thi

      Some mysterious stuff is going down on Earth so the players pop through a dimensional portal to what I assume to be Black Mesa to catch the G-man. Fight through the facility as soldiers and aliens fight each other and watch out for ambushes. SCMapDB page Author:eMTeG Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Between the Lines (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 4, 2023 | 3454 characters      Between the Lines is an action walkthrough map for Sven Co-op.      The name of the game is move from hallway to mini arena to hallway to mini arena over and over again until you stumble upon the abrupt ending. All the way through, you battle dense placements of HECU and Xen military locked in combat. Namely, battle HECU grunts and vortigaunts, headcrabs, alien grunts, alien controllers, barnacles, and baby gargantuas. Enemies spawn so many at once it creates frantic fighting. You can tell the enemies are spawned the moment you approach them, as

      Some mysterious stuff is going down on Earth so the players pop through a dimensional portal to what I assume to be Black Mesa to catch the G-man. Fight through the facility as soldiers and aliens fight each other and watch out for ambushes. SCMapDB page Author:eMTeG Date of release: 2002 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Between the Lines (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 4, 2023 | 3156 characters      As far as maps go I would say this one is very average. We have the standard Black Mesa texturing, even if the story is trying not to be standard Half-Life fare. Players start off with the basic pistol, medkit, crowbar loadout in a spawn room with weapons locked behind glass. Going through a teleport throws players into the level proper.      I wasn't happy to start a level off with seeing all these weapons locked off and then getting thrown into combat with nothing more than the standard weapons. However, I quickly found an mp5 and my teammate r

    We go back to Black Mesa to fill the shoes of a naive scientist who thinks the military is here to save everybody. We go back to Lambda core to get our revenge for some reason. SCMapDB page Author:Zorbos Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Betrayed (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | February 2, 2023 | 6730 characters      Betrayed is an action walkthrough map for Sven Co-op. It features a very Black Mesa (specifically Lambda Core) aesthetic, though with even more hallways.      Players begin with a handgun and not much else, but quickly move their way up to grenades, uzis, an MP5, snarks, a shotgun, a SAW, and a gauss gun. There's a lot of ammo given, but it's given in backpacks or otherwise out-of-the-way pickups, so until the players get an arsenal in the checkpoint spawn, there's a lot of backtracking around slowly for weapons. The snarks in particular are the most egregious example, as they require a lengthy crawl throug

      We go back to Black Mesa to fill the shoes of a naive scientist who thinks the military is here to save everybody. We go back to Lambda core to get our revenge for some reason. SCMapDB page Author:Zorbos Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Betrayed (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | February 2, 2023 | 5242 characters      In this map we go back to Lambda Core. This is pretty much what the map description says and what the level is. Lambda Core already exists so I am not sure why we are redoing it, this map is certainly not better than it.      Players start off by infiltrating the facility from the outside, down an elevator and into a series of hallways. There are a lot of enemies and they usually have really high health, occasionally there is a glowing monster with really really high health. After about three different kinds of hallways we come to a room with forcefields blocking doors. This map is an abandoned beta so only two of th

      Get angry! Wrath is a very simple level, in fact the included screenshot shows about half the level. Also the map description says the vortigaunts are endless but after about ten they stopped spawning in. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Wrath (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 28, 2023 | 1880 characters     Wrath is a map by Robootto which contains a vortigaunt spawner, a chamber with four miniguns, and four vertical shafts filled with colored lights which players will fall through consecutively via a teleport trap if they attempt to use one of the few interactable parts of the map. The map is plainly textured, but features a look that leaves quite an impression.      Indeed, I wanted to play and review this map tonight because of how it caught my eye that RNG's map Disintegration of Time contains a chamber which so resembles this map. If you go to Disintegration of Time's page, one of the firs

      Get angry! Wrath is a very simple level, in fact the included screenshot shows about half the level. Also the map description says the vortigaunts are endless but after about ten they stopped spawning in. SCMapDB page Author: Robootto Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Wrath (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 28, 2023 | 1734 characters     This is a very short map with no game end. Players spawn in a red room with a vortigaunt spawner. It does hurt players the moment they spawn and it does respawn vortigaunts but there is a limit, probably ten or around there. So after we killed all the vortigaunts we tried in vain to break into the window of the room in the middle of the room. I decided to head through what looked to be a doorway and fell down a rainbow colored shaft, then hit a teleporter at the bottom and fell through another shaft. Four shafts in total and then I landed inside the room in the middle of the room. It is full of miniguns

      This map is a beta and ends abruptly. It also doesn't really have a story. However, it does contain eye gouging amounts of blue and some fun gameplay. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bluecell Puzzle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 28, 2023 | 2766 characters     Bluecell Puzzle is a Sven Co-op puzzle map seemingly abandoned by Keen. Much of navigation is based around using the barnacle, and the setting is wacky and neodadaist.      Worth mentioning that if you don't get the fixed bsp, this map is outright broken.      Bright, colorful, wacky corridors littered with crystals and corpses holding valuable weapons to pick up- that is what makes up most of Bluecell Puzzle. The environment has a lot of charm to it, even if it looks like MSPaint vomit with clipart crystals additive-moded into the scenery. That's one of the strengths of picking any Keen map- you'll always get interesting, strikin

      This map is a beta and ends abruptly. It also doesn't really have a story. However, it does contain eye gouging amounts of blue and some fun gameplay. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Bluecell Puzzle (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 28, 2023 | 3923 characters      Here is an old abandoned map that plays pretty well for being unfinished. Of course looking at the map description I see that the original map's spawn is broken and when we tried the map we died immediately on spawn and had a message telling us "no spawn points available". So if you want to play this map you HAVE to get the fixed bsp. Maybe this map will get repacked one day and people won't have to deal with the confusion.      Players start off right in front of a barnacle and a deep pit into water. You could just jump down or you can grapple up and get a gauss gun. While the barnacle is not the focus on the map you do need i

       Sitting somewhere between a whole new experience and just being Black Mesa but monochrome, this map brings a much needed unique visual style to Sven Co-op. From monsters to lights, everything is either black or white. SCMapDB page Author: BuGi Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black & White (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 28, 2023 | 4261 characters      For clarity's sake, I am reviewing the July 21, 2019 update (by SC-Dynamite) of BuGi's Black White map. My understanding is that it's the most up-to-date fix with the least overwrought changes.      Black White is a stylish walkthrough map. It falls into the kind of surrealistic kaizo-action you might think of when you think of the Half-Quake series. Things are largely black and white, you mostly fight vortigaunts using boilerplate weaponry, and the map trolls the players with hidden traps and minor inconveniences. It feels a bit unfair to draw comparisons to Half-

       Sitting somewhere between a whole new experience and just being Black Mesa but monochrome, this map brings a much needed unique visual style to Sven Co-op. From monsters to lights, everything is either black or white. SCMapDB page Author: BuGi Date of release: 2004 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Black & White (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 28, 2023 | 3592 characters      Black and White is a tricky map where the solution to the puzzle is not always straightforward. All the visuals are simplistic monochrome black and white textures. Standard Half-Life textures are remade in this style but there is also plenty checkerboard as well. Enemies are reskinned to be black and white but blood is not, so red and yellow is the only splash of color you'll see besides sprays.      The map really reminds me of Half-Quake, the whole thing is designed to mess with your head. The first puzzle is pressing a button in spawn and then figuring out that one black sq

      Black Operations (not to be confused with Blackops, a different map) is a Half-Life mod converted over to Sven Co-op. It uses many new textures along with impressive detail to tell the unnecessary story of how the United States acquired the nuke used to destroy Black Mesa. SCMapDB page Original map author: Little_Otis Conversion author: Shinkichi Date of original mod release: 2005 Date of final Sven Map release: 2010 Maps in package: 13 Map review of Black Operations: Special Forces (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 28, 2023 | 6245 characters      Black Operations: Special Forces is a walkthrough mapset which follows the exploits of a Black Operations soldier who gets in way over his head. Throughout there is setpiece after setpiece, lots of very inspired material, some puzzles, great action, and some exquisite aesthetics to tie it together.      Throughout this map players take on the role of a Black Ops grunt. The main way that this affects gameplay

      Black Operations (not to be confused with Blackops, a different map) is a Half-Life mod converted over to Sven Co-op. It uses many new textures along with impressive detail to tell the unnecessary story of how the United States acquired the nuke used to destroy Black Mesa. SCMapDB page Original map author: Little_Otis Conversion author: Shinkichi Date of original mod release: 2005 Date of final Sven Map release: 2010 Maps in package: 13 Map review of Black Operations: Special Forces (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 26, 2023 | 5947 characters      This map series is a conversion of a standalone mod by the same name. We follow a Black Ops soldier named Declan Walker whose job is to plant the nuclear bomb that takes out Black Mesa. The map description says we're getting back a mysterious briefcase from a Black Mesa scientist. Spoilers, but that briefcase is the nuke. We're also in Metro City but manage to plant the bomb in Black Mesa anyway, the story

    Agog means to be very eager to hear or see something. Be agog for this map as it has interesting visuals, puzzles, combat, and some very impressive sequences. Mind the eye strain. SCmapDB page Author: RNG Date of release: 2009 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Psychic Agog (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | January 22, 2023 | 3527 characters      Psychic Agog is a seemingly "beta" map release by RNG. It's been in this state going on 14 years now, so I think it's probably safe to presume RNG's interests have moved on and we can take a look on what this beta release stands to say on its own now.      The map is an action walkthrough with the slightest, slightest hint of a puzzle element. Players traverse a surreal (but not THAT surreal by RNG standards) illusion world which exists as some sort of experiment. Players traverse the initial stage by exploring an open area and solving tiny contextual puzzles in the environment before entering a new

    Agog means to be very eager to hear or see something. Be agog for this map as it has interesting visuals, puzzles, combat, and some very impressive sequences. Mind the eye strain. SCmapDB page Author: RNG Date of release: 2009 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Psychic Agog (originally posted on SCMapDB) by GrandmasterJ | January 22, 2023 | 3584 characters     This map is just a beta and is unfortunately never going to be 'finished', however it is still playable and is fairly polished as well. The first half has some trippy scenery followed by some space zombie fighting with cube gathering.      The map starts us out in a big black and white grid field with some basic but evocative geometry. large cubes dot the area along with some floating and gyrating cubes above, some interesting towers and some buildings with obvious purpose. This is a puzzle, an escape room of sorts and it is pretty fun. Each time we solved a piece of it there would be something happening, this map uses