Most well designed game?

[icame]

I have been playing half life 2 for the past 3 hours and I'm in love. I've heard so much amazing things about it but none of it prepared me for this. Based on these first 3 hours, it seems like this game is designed to perfection.

So, What game do you consider to be best designed/perfectly designed

 

[TiefBlau]

Gonna try to beat a lot of people:

Portal.

The aesthetics complemented the gameplay complemented the music complemented the voice acting complemented the humor complemented the......

 

[Funk Engine]

There are a lot of very well designed games (the Assassin's Creed sequels and the Half-Life games spring instantly to mind), but if I had to say one game from recent years that was the best designed, I'd have to say Batman Arkham Asylum.

It was atmospheric, it was balanced, the stealth and combat were equally entertaining and effective, it had plenty of extra stuff to extend play time, and the story, while not great, was well told and suspenseful. The only major flaw was an over-reliance on Batman's "detective vision", but other than that, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better example of stellar game design.

 

[Mittens The Kitten]

Team fortress 2,
No other game has done multiplayer so well.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

XD it's all Valve titles on parade here!
Anyways, I agree with you on the opening of Half Life 2.
Also, TF2 is still the best online FPS I've ever seen.

 

[JustCallMeAlex]

Team fortress 2,
No other game has done multiplayer so well.

True it was completely balanced until they started adding the new items.
Regardless I agree because it is an insanely fun game with an awesome aesthetic and moddable gameplay.

 

[icame]

I'd also like to add in Uncharted 2 to the mix. It didn't give me the same level of awe as Half life 2 but it is one of my favorite games.

 

[badgersprite]

Gonna try to beat a lot of people:

Portal.

The aesthetics complemented the gameplay complemented the music complemented the voice acting complemented the humor complemented the......

Yep. Ninja'd. That game was designed and refined to within an inch of its life, and that's precisely the root of its success. Not a single part of the game is arbitrary, and it all functions with essentially no exposition whatsoever. Like they said on Extra Credits, about two thirds of this game is tutorial, but you don't even notice because it facilitates learning and puzzle solving rather than telling you the answers. Once you have all the skills you need, you've hit the climax, and it's time to test your thinking. Perfectly paced.

It's not my favourite game or anything, but it is a masterclass in game and level design, without a doubt.

 

[SangRahl]

X-Com: Enemy Unknown*

Perfect balance between tactical combat and micromanagement... The combat sequences were always tense and nerve wracking. Having to coordinate the base construction and management meant having to pay attention to the global situation, on top of the troops' disposition and loadout. Toss in having to relegate research and manufacture, and you have the near-perfect armchair commander simulation... Then comes the stacked odds,'unrelentng opposition, and creepy atmosphere as you try and bring all your troops back home alive and ready fo the next encounter. (And let's not forget the first nighttime Terror Mission where you meet your first Chryssalid... Yep, sh*t just got REAL.)


*Yes, I know that this is an amalgamation of "UFO: Enemy Unknown" and "X-Com: UFO Defense". As The Escapist is an internation webpublication, it just seems easer to have the British/European players perk up at the "mistake" right along with the Americans.

 

[teh_Canape]

Team fortress 2,
No other game has done multiplayer so well.

until they decided to make the demoman a member of the McLeods

his swords and axes just break the balance, especially when combined with that shield

 

[subject_87]

Super Meat boy, I must say, is a near-perfect achievement in game design, nailing the optimum tone, bosses, art style, level design, controls, and more for a game of its kind.

 

[Atticus89]

Tetris.

It's a simple game: you have five shapes comprised of four squares. Arrange them to make a line. Keep going until you lose. It's a game that anyone can play and can be an amazing yet stupidly fun time-killer.

 

[II2]

You're actually asking two questions:

What is the best designed game that uses minimal controls/elements.

- Portal
- Limbo
- Braid
- Missile Command [small](thx, extra credits)[/small]

What is the best designed game that uses MANY controls/elements.

- Battlefield BC2
- Fallout / Bioshock
- Starcraft
- World of Warcraft

Not claiming those as facts, but as contenders for the respective division of scope in this topic.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

The best designed games, in my opinion, also happen to be my favorite;
Deus Ex
Age of Empires II
Planescape Torment

Team Fortress 2 deserves to be thrown in there too.

 

[thom_cat_]

Team fortress 2,
No other game has done multiplayer so well.

I know others have said the same thing I'm going to say, but it WAS good, but is now full of useless addons and the character balancing is now way out of whack with all the possible weapons.

I'd probably say HL2 as well.
Portal has amazing design, it's learning curve is fantastic. Only problem is they didn't make things complicated at all, I'm hoping they add some puzzle into the 2nd!

Someone said Arkham Asylum... nah, that game's atmosphere was horrible, nothing was scary, the combat defence was somewhat broken, there is a heavy reliance on detective vision for the unlocks, and by the time you finish the game you only just have access to all the weapons to find the items! So then you embark on a quest to find it all, and the end result is you solve a very uninteresting mystery.

 

[Sixcess]

I'm going to throw in another vote for Portal. In addition to what's already been praised the mechanics of the game function perfectly. I can think of plenty of games where I know what I need to do, but it's a lot harder than it should be because the controls are unresponsive or imprecise. In Portal, if you try to do something and you do it right it will work, first time.

Other than that I'd pick Civilisation II, for its depth and flexibility; the original Doom for pretty much inventing the FPS as we know it today; and World of Warcraft, which is incredibly well put together.

 

[KrazyShrink]

I'd go with Half Life 2 and Starcraft (1 and 2). Half Life just did so many damn things right, and was amazing at guiding you in the right direction without holding your hand. Starcraft is just incredibly balanced, considering how high-level it's taken.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

oh jesus? best designed? that definitly knocks out most of my favorite games (i love my games to death but i realize they are heavily flawed)

uhm...

civilization 4 is a good game in my personal opinion, i think it gets pretty close to perfecting turn based strategy into a short/medium/long term infinite frenzy

 

[BlindTom]

Chess.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Deathspank, that game is hilarious and really fun to play. Where else in a game do you go looking for poop for a magic upgrade?