Like Christmas coming on the 25th of December or Independence Day on the 4th of July, you can set your clock to the release of EA Sports’ latest Madden football title. Every 2nd Tuesday in August not only marks the beginning of the NFL season for many fans, it also signals the onslaught of autumn video game releases. Madden’s certainly a big deal; gamers buy new consoles for the next edition of Madden, for goodness’ sake.

There’s no question that EA Tiberon cares just as much about the game of football itself as they do their famous simulation based upon it, but the short development cycle usually allows for only a handful of small touches and refinements to be made over last year’s title. The question that arises every August is a simple one: is it better than the previous Madden, or should I skip this year?

Madden NFL 11’s answer relies solely on your stance as a Madden gamer. Are you a traditionalist who hated such “innovations” as the Vision Cone or Madden 2005’s overactive Hit Stick? Or have you fallen off (or just never got aboard) the Madden bandwagon in recent years? The focus of much chagrin in NFL 11 is the controversial Strategy Pad, and you’ll either despise it or welcome it, depending on your answer to the question above. For a hardcore Madden gamer such as myself, I found the relocation of the crucial pre-play audible systems a jarring and unnecessarily mandatory kick in the balls of my routine. Less experienced gamers should find the new one-stop shop for on-field tweaks easy to navigate and learn.

Two other notable changes affect the pacing of a typical game of Madden football in completely different ways. Gameflow is a new system that automatically selects a play without the need to return to a menu screen, therefore speeding up the game and giving you more time on the field. The result is a mixed bag; while it’s nice to be able to move quickly between plays on offense, choose between a few different options on 4th down situations and special teams plays, it often places defenses out of position when the opponent changes personnel packages. Any football savvy gamer knows running a 4-3 defense against five wide receivers is not a smart move, yet the AI insists that’s what you want to do.

Inversely, removing the sprint button across all game modes has slowed down the running aspect considerably. The result is a more accurate, strategic, and ultimately more fun way to run the ball against an opponent. Instead of mashing down sprint and hoping for the best, I found myself actively looking for holes to open up in the offensive line and moving there as quickly as possible. It’s a marked improvement over the failing running game of the last few Madden titles and should slow the pass-happy online gamers down a bit.

Speaking of online, Team Play is a new improvement that relaxes old (Madden-related) personal grievances and repairs friendships by allowing three players to work as a team to grind down the gridiron. Having two other players with specific roles on a squad is an exceptional cooperative experience. Hearing my teammates cheer as I broke a tackle or performed the crucial block was a satisfying touch and I’m eager to go back for more.

Those interested in the strategy and intrigue of a typical NFL football game may find Coachspeak, which provides a basic explanation of the upcoming play, a useful tool in comprehending the mechanics and structure of a given play. It’s meant to be Madden’s equivalent to a coordinator’s play call to the player on the field (it will even pipe the audio to your headset), though it’s nowhere near what an NFL player would hear through their helmet speaker.

If you’ve ever been curious about checking out a Madden title or haven’t played one in years, Madden NFL 11’s the version you need in order to jump back into the series. Everything’s been made more accessible for newcomers to enjoy, although it seems to be at the expense of the dedicated Madden fan’s experience. Is the game better than last year’s? Sure, but while the rest of the accessibility changes are optional, whether or not you can live with the Strategy Pad is something you’ll have to try for yourself. Also, Cris Collinsworth’s voice work is still the worst part of Madden.

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Things We Liked: Great online modes. Streamlined (and mostly optional) control changes. Classic Madden gameplay is incrementally improved from last year.

Things We Disliked: Accessibility changes are inconsistent (make EVERYTHING optional, please). Gameflow doesn’t work well on defense. Cris Collinsworth.

Target Audience: Newcomers to the series. Those who’ve been intimidated by Madden in recent years. Traditionalists who can come to terms with the Strategy Pad.

(Madden NFL 11 – Developer: EA Tiberon. Publisher: EA Sports. Available for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 and Wii – Xbox 360 version reviewed. Unfamiliar with CFD!’s review system? Read our newly revised explanation here.)