ApolloJ85

The biggest issue I have with the game is its inconsistent tone. If Rockstar wanted to make a serious game they should have cut out the juvenile humour that has long been a staple of the GTA franchise. It's a complaint I also have with RDR. It's a complaint I hope I won't have with LA Noire, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
All the other crap like awful on foot controls, the shooting mechanic, and the sluggish driving mechanics are minor problems. 
 
I started to play it again recently and although the game has aged quite poorly, i'm enjoying it more than the first time. That's probably because I have much lower expectations of a Rockstar game these days.

Agreed. The game has its merits, but its relation to the need for speed franchise is in name only. 
 
That's not a bad thing considering the amount of terrible games in the nfs franchise, but it was also disappointing considering it takes nothing from the few great games. It is basically burnout with licensed cars and cops. 
 
 I hate it and love it equally.

C-Tates

I only dislike it because the connection to their servers seems less than ideal. It shouldn't be possible to have dropouts and prolonged connection times even though my XBL connection is perfect.
 
The pass itself is fine, its just the service provided that sucks the big one.

As a general indication i paid $419 US (Including priority shipping) for the pro drums (with cymbals), a fender mustang pro guitar and the keyboard.

 Wait for amazon to get them back in stock.  
 
I did a fair bit of running around a few months ago trying to get a decent set imported to Australia (and was ultimately successful). Amazon is really the only way to go, but only when you can get the instruments directly from amazon. There is no other, cheaper method that I am aware of.

Amazon is useless for australian xbox owners, as games are useless for australian xboxes. In any case, amazon won't allow you to import games into australia.
 
I normally use play-asia, game.co.uk, or game.com.au 
 
It's unlikely you'll find anything super cheap there, but you can pick up some great deals when they have sales.

Just added a bunch of peeps from the last couple of pages. My only other NFSHP friend keeps mercilessly trashing my times every time I get ahead. I need someone to beat up on. Promise I'll be nice about it.
 
Feel free to add me - Apollo J85

I have to agree with your concept of an AC game based in Japan. For me the strongest attraction in the AC series has been the historical settings - and the game world as an extension of that. 
 
As much as I am craving a Desmond Miles based game in the next AC, I still think that a serialised AC that branches off into well thought out and designed worlds would be awesome. On the other hand, I could see the developers getting a little tired of dealing with the same game every year.

A console version would entice me more, but I figure the likelihood of that happening is pretty low.