I can't emphasize enough how happy I am with this year's edition of Madden NFL. As I said back at E3, I planned to sit this year out. I like football, but every year I felt a little more overwhelmed by what the game was throwing at me. Every new bell and whistle was great for hardcore fans, but as a casual player, I saw nothing but a big roadblock.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one. During my appointment with EA, I looked at Madden NFL with the sole purpose of providing coverage. I'll be honest; I wasn't expecting to like what I saw. My few minutes with the game soon turned into twenty, making it one of my longest appointments of the show. I liked what I saw then, and really like what I've been playing for the last two weeks.

Madden NFL has always been the king of "As Seen on TV" presentation and unless you're a nit-picky perfectionist, Madden NFL 11 doesn't disappoint. Player models are accurate to a point. They look like real players, but don't venture into creepy "they look like zombies" territory. The Locomotion engine, seen earlier this year in NCAA Football 11, makes an appearance, resulting in smoother on-field animations. There are still a few "canned" movements, but they pop out only on special occasions.

Commentary is, well, it's commentary. This year's version gets a boost from new play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson. Compared to past years, commentary feels better. Johnson and analyst Chris Collinsworth are a good team. Yet, it still seems like the duo recorded their lines separate from one another. There's no play between the two, leading to mechanical conversations.

There's a lot to do in Madden NFL 11. Franchise, Online Franchise, Superstar Mode, Exhibition... if you can't find something you like, you probably shouldn't have picked up the game in the first place.

All through E3, EA emphasized Madden NFL 11's underlying theme, "Simpler, Quicker, Deeper." It only takes one game to see just how successfully they were able to pull it off. Games are quicker now (my longest was 30 minutes), thanks in large part to "GameFlow." The idea behind GameFlow is simple. During a real NFL game, coaches game plan based on their opponent and the situation. In previous editions, you had to cycle through pages of plays to find the right one. This took way too long and would sometimes lead to bad decisions or a delay of game penalties. With GameFlow, plays are automatically selected based on the current on-field situation.

As a casual fan, I loved GameFlow. The headset messages from the coach are a great tutorial. At the same time, I can see where some hardcore fans won't like it. The good news is nearly everything involved with GameFlow can be turned off. Still, I recommend giving it a shot before reaching for the "Off" switch. The option really shines when paired with Gameplanning, where you get to set the plays GameFlow chooses from.

GameFlow is a great hook, but the feature that really won me over was online co-op play. Up to six players can face off in three-on-three games. Each person takes a position (QB, Receivers...) and essentially coaches all players in that area. For instance, the QB is responsible for reading the defense, calling a play and tossing the ball. Meanwhile, the Receiver is in charge of reading coverage, relying information to the QB and controlling receivers.

Playing as a QB is, predictably, the more interesting spot, but with the right set of friends, any position can be a blast. Some will lament at losing control over certain parts of the game, but I loved every minute of it. It was refreshing to only have to concentrate on one thing and be part of a collaborative effort - unless you mess up your one thing... then you have two other guys on your back for the rest of the game.

Take note, "Simpler" does not equal "Easier." Madden NFL 11 is still a challenging game. For all the great things GameFlow brings to the game, it doesn't always work - particularly defense. While the coach's tips are great while on offense, they're of little help on defense. For lack of a better way of saying it, GameFlow is "broken" - at least when it comes to knowing what's happening on any given play. Most of the time I ended up holding (A) and letting the A.I. auto-play defensive formations until I got an idea of what was happening.

A.I. is, for the most part, greatly improved over past games. Line play is better, especially when it comes to your offensive line opening holes and blocking. Still, it's not perfect. Players will still take plays off and the secondary is outright magical. As in the past, there are some "scripted" elements. Tight games are usually interrupted by sudden fumbles or teams remembering how to play. It's never enough to completely cheat you out of victory, but still feels cheap.

Like NCAA Football 11, Madden NFL 11 brings in a number of small, yet significant control changes. The biggest change is the removal of the Turbo button. It's one button, but completely changed how I approached the running game. Without the option to jam down on the Turbo button when I need a little boost, I had to rely more on spinning, juking and all the other runner moves I'd apparently been ignoring all these years (or, at the very least, been failing to use properly).

This works great in conjunction with a dual analog control scheme. The system is similar to NCAA Football 11 and offers the ability to control the upper body independent of the lower. Players can turn their shoulders while looking for holes or defending the ball. This is when you really begin to notice the Locomotion engine at it's best and realize Madden NFL 11 is different from past versions.

Overall, Madden NFL 11 is a big improvement over past years and probably one of the series' more exciting offerings. Though in the past you could usually skip out on an upgrade, this is one year you'll want to pick up the new version. It's slicker, better tuned and a lot of fun.