Gaming pretty much keeps me sane during the winter - one hidden gem that was obscenely costly new you *may* be able to pick up cheap these days is Steel Battalion.
Xbox only, sadly no 360 back compatibility for this one, but piloting a giant stompy robot is worth keeping the old hardware going.
*Especially* when this is the controller you get :
Note - the sequel (sort of), 'Line of Contact' does *not* come with the controller, but the setup can sometimes be grabbed off ebay cheapish, and used original Xbox's can be picked up fairly easily.