Since I've got a big ol' giveaway a few pages back and my birthday's in two weeks, I'm ready to get myself a copy of Myst. Problem is, there's two versions. So, I need a little help deciding.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/myst_masterpiece_edition

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/real_myst

At the moment I'm leaning towards Real Myst, because from the screenshots it reminds me of the first time I played Morrowind, that same wonder and curiosity in the world, wondering what's over that hill, can I get on top of this mountain, what's out there in the ocean? And the free motion idea makes me think I can re-capture that again.

But then, the masterpiece edition may be easier to play, I've heard Myst is one of the great challenges in PC gaming and free motion may just be a distraction, a way to cause me to miss vital details or challenges in the game.

You'll have to play both :) They are just too great to miss

But that's $12 for essentially the same game, right?

have never played it but the real myst, seems well.. the real myst.
its newer, more improved and a chance to explore more.


http://www.gog.com/en/forum/myst_series/realmyst_vs_myst_masterpiece_edition

It's hard to say... Masterpiece Edition has aged better IMO, but RealMyst has a (very very short) extra age that ties it to Riven.

ME has a bug that wasn't in the original Windows version and isn't in RealMyst either.

Myst Masterpiece edition is the original... realMyst is more free roaming and it's kinda Director's cut :)

Out of curiosity, what's this?

BTW: I had Myst back in the day, so I bought realMyst.

Not quite, ME is a director's cut, realMyst is something of a remake. Trying not to give too much away for those who haven't played yet:

In ME (only), the fortress rotation is completely broken and appears to be random instead of behaving like the simulator. In the original version and from what I remember of realMyst the actual mechanism behaves as it does in the simulator.

There is a mistake in RealMYST as well that is not present in any other version. When it is time to pull the levers on the main island, when you have finished all the ages, look up the right combination in a walkthrough, as the hint in RealMYST is incorrect.

Anyway, i would suggest going with RealMyst for the simple reason that it is easier to get into for someone who is unused to the slider style movement that was used in Myst & Riven. It might save you some early frustration, and help you get used to the series and its special brand of puzzle solving, without having to worry about any other annoyances.

Like any good Nostalginaut, I have to say - Masterpiece, because it's the way it was originally made (sorta). However, I have to admit, the other is probably a slight improvement for plain old playability.

Buy realMyst.

It allows you to experience the world to a fuller extent. Things just clicked more for me while playing this version (a few years after I played Masterpiece) so I enjoyed it a lot more.