What is the best overall game in the Myst series.
And which game do you think is best in graphics, puzzles, story, ect.

Riven, by far.

Riven is a beautiful, sublime, gorgeous masterpiece. From the subtleties and nuances in the writing and presentation to the genius puzzle design, Riven is a masterful work of art.

This is just one of those games that comes together perfectly and unwinds with such grace and subtlety that it has such a profound effect and never fails to amaze.

The arch-villain, Gehn, is one of the most compelling nemesis' ever written. The character is made all the more engaging by a brilliant performance courtesy of John Keston.

The puzzles range from the ingeniously simple to the impossibly cunning, and the world design is almost indescribable. The near photorealism of the visuals aside, Riven's art direction is - in a word - exceptional.

I know it's an underdog, but I always really liked the story for Myst: Exile. I thought the actor in that one was really fantastic, and I loved the increased use of FMV segments. Second best for me is the original Myst--it was so cool the way you'd learn about the two brothers bit by bit, and the choice at the end was awesome. The Masterpiece Edition really made it more fluid and fun as well, with more 360-degree movement. My least favorite was Uru. I didn't think the story for that one was terribly good. All of them are neat, though. Can't wait for Obduction!

This isn't even a contest, Riven blows both the other Myst games and any game in the genre completely out of the water, and it's one of the best games of all times imo. No other game I know of blends puzzles, setting, dialogue and the players own intellect so well together into storytelling. This game doesn't spoonfeed you the story at all, you have to put it together yourself, discover the info within the info. If you ask (and answer) the right questions this game will blow your mind. If you don't ask the right questions it will still be a good game, but not as formidable. It makes for great replay value that is very uncharacteristic for the genre, because you can have a different experience when you access the game differently in a next playthrough. In fact if you really want to know what's what in the world of Riven, I really recommend playing this game several times. It's the little details that can escape you several playthroughs, and hit you in the face the very next time because that session you did drink your coffee.

I find it hard to pick a single game in the series as the best anymore. I got sick of people saying "Riven = the best, period". Riven was great, I'm not debating that in any fashion.

Each title has its own charms. Jack Wall's music in Myst IV is up there as some of the greatest music written and recorded for a game (and is Wall's masterwork). Riven's art direction is nothing short of breathtaking and innovative. Myst III had fantastic sound design (and another excellent score as provided by Jack Wall), where the environments seemed to spring to life (the wildlife on Edanna, the machinery on Voltaic, etc.) as they rightly should have. Myst set the stage in a subtle, yet grand fashion - if the story it told hadn't been compelling, no one would've been playing any sequel(s) at all. Myst V, personally my least admired among them but not disliked, did a respectable job at attempting to meld together all the elements from the previous entries while being bold enough to try and drop a few new tricks into the bag as it closed out the series.

Taken collectively, they make up a wonderful adventure.

If Riven took after the freewalk of URU, I'd choose that. But instead, I prefer Uru.

I can understand that, but I do think we have every reason to say so.

I have a particular fondness for Uru's charms, as derivative as it is. Given enough time, Uru's vision could have been fully realized. It has its own unique style that sets it apart quite nicely from its predecessors, and the idea of getting to explore the City of D'ni is a given. I just wish we had been able to see more of it online and off.

Uru's puzzles are not as ingenious as Riven's with the exception of the Ahnonay age which combines narrative, presentation and puzzle solving into one brilliantly conceived package. Uru also has some of the best visual design in the series.

What Grandaddy Myst has going for it is the Nostalgia Factor.

Myst III was a solid show courtesy of Presto Studios with the likes of an over enthusiastic Brad Dourif giving a memorable performance as the tragic villain. Remarkable presentation and visual design and some good solid puzzles.

Ubisuck took Myst IV the cinematic route - which was engaging, but it felt very superficial to me. I love what they did with the game cursor. The whole world felt tactile and alive and I really admire the personal connection to Atrus' family that their home as the game's central hub area provided. Puzzle design was lack luster and performances were almost universally bad.

Myst V has the stigma of being the conclusion to everything that Uru was unable to provide. Lame puzzles, boring presentation and an exceptional performance courtesy of David Stiers.