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[MYE]

Only one comes to my mind.
And I can't even think of a close second place...

Since the Warcaft II days when I was a kid that it has actually been an absolute joy to spend time in Blizzard menus. I actually look forward to them. Its crazy!
The art in W2 menus are in fact one of the most early influences that set me into the path of becoming a designer/artist.
SO much time spent copying Metzen's artwork :´D. Good days!

 

[Thorwaldsson]

Yeah Blizzard, you got it right.

 

[Throwaway123456789]

Best inventory screen ever.

 

[Boken]

these arent "designed", theyre just pretty.

my favourite designed UI/HUD goes to dead space

 

[LiK]

Dead Space UI is exquisite.

 

[jelly]

Bungie.

Starbreeze had a cool one with Riddick which was flashy but sensible.

 

[Tailzo]

In terms of look, Persona 4 is nice in my eyes.

But you don't really need a complicated UI for that game.

 

[SpartanN92]

Bungie.

Beat me to it.

 

[Dennis]

No HUD is best HUD.

Is the game a flight sim?

If no, then make it playable without the HUD. It is OK if this makes the game harder.

 

[AntiFacebook]

Yep,Blizzard is the right answer(Though D2's interface was far better than that of D3).

 

[JimPanzer]

Matsuno RPG's

Tactics Ogre

 

[Subaru]

 

[Robin64]

Having the HUD as part of Samus' helmet is awesome. Not just some stuff on screen for us to see, but she sees it too.

 

[Basileus777]

Matsuno RPG's

Tactics Ogre

What? Tactics Ogre PSP has horrible menu design.

 

[hwy_61]

I'm also gonna have to agree with OP. Blizzard has always nailed the UI in all their games.

 

[Bit-Bit]

I'm gonna go with Retro Studio for their work on the Metroid Prime Games.

 

[MYE]

these arent "designed", theyre just pretty.

my favourite designed UI/HUD goes to dead space

What do you mean? Of course they are designed

 

[mrmickfran]

Retro and their Metroid Prime HUDs.

 

[Lionheart]

I remember loving the interface and menus from WipEout HD. HUD too I think. Sooo slick and stylish.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

Disgusting. Comic Sans would have nearly looked better. Jesus, the red arrows aren't even correctly aligned - I'm surprised this mess even got through QC.

 

[benjipwns]

Best inventory screen ever.

Best HUD ever after learning about this: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=102651791&postcount=1092

 

[JimPanzer]

What? Tactics Ogre PSP has horrible menu design.

I knew this was coming, can't understand though. Same with Vagrant Story, people hated the UI while I loved it.
Yes you have to click alot, but they look nice and give you tons of information.

 

[Terbinator]

So much information in one place. Superb.

 

[Garland7G]

Beat me to it.

Ima have to go with this too. The menu's in that game are some of the best and very easy to navigate. No comment on HUD's.

 

[acheron_xl]

I always felt like this is something Visceral were decent at. Menu UI was one of Dead Space's big innovations, right?

 

[Zoator]

Civilization V for me:

 

[Des0lar]

Easy choice

 

[DistortionOfReality]

Another vote for Dead Space. All indicators you need built into the character's suit. Pretty groundbreaking at the time imo

 

[Interfectum]

Blizzard, easily.

 

[Fattony12000]

Journey has a pretty clean UI.

 

[nai]

Hard to beat Counter-Strike in my opinion.

 

[E92 M3]

Bungie.

Starbreeze had a cool one with Riddick which was flashy but sensible.

Oh yes, Reach had some of my favorite UI.

 

[Krusenstern]

I always felt like this is something Visceral were decent at. Menu UI was one of Dead Space's big innovations, right?

Agreed. The whole HUD design in Dead Space is pretty great. No HUD that floats somewhere in the corners of your screen, but instead the rig and other indicators on your back and the holographic munition counter above your weapon acts as such.
Very brilliant design in my opinion.

 

[ron_bato]

Easy choice

Indeed. First thing that came to my mind.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

Easy choice

Definitely this. Mindblowing.

 

[Ostinatto]

Demon's souls , START»EQUIPMENT»SELECT ITEM SLOT»SELECT ITEM»CIRCLE»START.

 

[MYE]

Demon's souls , START»EQUIPMENT»SELECT ITEM SLOT»SELECT ITEM»CIRCLE»START.

It works well but the item art in the Souls games is so ugly :/

 

[Krusenstern]

Honorable mentions go to MGS4's circle interface that shows you enemy positions

and ZOE2's circle interface which shows incoming damage, enemy positions and destination markers.

 

[Pifje]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwNok2lj4xs

Escape from Butcher Bay had a complex looking menu "cube" which surprisingly seemed to work smoother than some 2D menus out there. The animations look complex, but the menu layout and structure itself is very simple which is something I like.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Came to say Blizzard.

They shit on everyone from ten trillion light years away in this area.

 

[Dictator93]

Say what you will about the gameplay etc... but dead sapce has easily some of the best HUD and menu design from an atmospheric/in universe perspective. Also, props to doom 3 and Riddick for having similar ideas.

 

[Jonboy]

Hard to beat Metroid Prime, but more recently I would say Tomb Raider (no HUD at all) and The Last of Us.

 

[Korigama]

Was hoping for at least one Atlus mention by now (P4, Catherine, and SMT IV being a few examples).

 

[PotionBleue]

Menus: Sakurai's game. Meteos, Smash Bros., Kid Icarus had an awesome menu design.

 

[PhoenixDawn]

Probably not my top choice, but I immediately thought of Sakurai's menus in pretty much all of his games. They have a nice, clear stylish feeling to them plus I love just messing around with the menu in Kid Icarus Uprising for reasons that I can't explain.

 

[RaikuHebi]

FFXIII and P4.

 

[FloatOn]

People saying Dead Space have it right.

 

[SolsticeZero]

Any game that lets me completely customize what I can and don't see on screen. Guild Wars 1 was so perfect for this. I could hide and rearrange any HUD element. Something I really hope they bring back in a GW2 patch.

 

[Mendoza]

Masahiro Sakurai

Meteos

Smash Bros. Melee

Smash Bros. Brawl

Kirby's Air Ride

Kirby's Super Star

Kid Icarus Uprising

Kirby's Adventure

Amazing stuff. Great use of stylistic minimalism. A lot of the menus also have a bunch of haptic feedback like dragging menu items around with the stylus on the DS titles, or moving the menu perspective around with the C-Stick on the Gamecube titles.

 

[ScOULaris]

While it may not be the best interface ever, I feel compelled to give a special shout-out to Persona 4's menus:

They had a really cohesive, sleek aesthetic to them, and they fit the modern-jazzy vibe of the game perfectly. I especially liked the use of animated silhouettes in the backgrounds of the menus.