well lets see. anyone who tells you not to buy or to buy this or that is giving opinions so let me give you good advise.
if you have never played before then you need to use a rental. you will know after a couple of sessions if you are going to be a die hard fan or not.
then and only then buy a gun.
as far as what gun to buy, well that is up to you and depending on how much you are gonna play needs to be a deciding factor. i have 13 different markers now and its because i have the money and dont care and just like to collect them too, but if i were you i would look at what other are playing with.
if you wind up getting bit by the paintnball bug then you might as well by the best gun for the money with what budget you have to work with because if you just settle with what you can buy immediately then you will be buying another soon when something else you like better catches your eye.
for rec play spyder,pmi phirana, rebels, bruisers, jokers, illustrators, the high end guns that you can buy at wholesale stores in america, they are all pretty much the same and considered starter rec guns. the only one that stands alone would be the tippmanns which have a little different design but are known to be a little more reliable than the others but not by much.
the tourney deemed guns would be the angels, matrix, bushmasters and bob longs,cockers, shockers, mags (DO NOT GET A MAG>>>TRUST ME) i have owned all but the matrix.
these guns take up a $1000.00+ dollars by the time you are done with them.
where i play in kansas city missouri usa most serious rec and tourney players play with the autococker of the custom variety. most of them have stuck about $1500.00 into thier guns. i have one as well but honestly..............if i had to get rid of them all i would use my tippman m98 custom.
in short......do what you wanna do.....if you got the $ then buy the best........if you dont then my suggestion is the spyder compact with a drop forward,12 oz tank, dye barrel, and expansion chamber. reliable and can be gotten off the net for less than $200.00