Secret World: regular or massive?

Check the base first, the gameplay is very specific and even though the atmosphere and story are amazing unlike any other MMO, I got sick of the sloppy stealth missions and HARD AS FUCK boss fights which require a load of mobility. Once you decide you want to stick with it, you can buy those chapters at your own leisure, they get discounted from time to time.

As to play time - I spent nearly 100 hours in the starting island (1 out of 3 major locations, I believe), so the base offers really robust play-time. I believe you get chapters 1-4 with the base and they only add a few quests here and there to existing NPCs.

MrCzoko pretty much described things. The base game offers you a lot for the money. Sure, if you can get the Massive Edition for the same price, take the discount, but if you really have no idea of whether or not you'll like the game, then go cheap. This game is very different from any other MMO. In fact, it's very different from any other game that comes to mind, so it is not for everyone. I continue to enjoy the game, so I got the Massive Edition because I could get three Issues for the price of two.

Don't worry about the Issues ruining a "vanilla" game experience. They will not have any impact on the game until you decide to play them.