With a new school year comes a new football season and a new Madden game.

“This is the big one,” said Josh Becvar, game adviser at GameStop, 2389 Sycamore Road, of “Madden NFL 09 the 20th installment of the Madden franchise.

Developer EA Tiburon tried to create the best possible Madden game by improving the game where it could, Becvar said.

“There are about 80 new features,” he said. “There were a lot of minor improvements on things players griped about.”

Aside from improving the graphics and game play — players can actually break out of a tackle — “Madden 09” makes itself more accessible to a wider audience.

“The new Madden IQ adapts the game to a specific player,” said Keith Nelson, assistant manager at GameStop, 2564 Sycamore Road.

Instead of playing at the pre-set difficulty level, players have the option of playing a trial game to determine their specific skill-level indicator, Becvar said.

The game has received positive reviews, ranging from 8-to-9 out of 10, from IGN.com (Internet Gaming Network) and “Xbox” and “Playstation” magazines.

“It’s not much different from the previous games, but it’s still a lot of fun because it’s Madden,” said freshman kinesiology major Joseph LoGalbo.

Freshman biology major Giovanni Ferraro said the game offers nothing new for him, “but is a lot better than ’08.”

The different tackling, smoother game play and more effective running game all contribute to Madden’s more realistic feel, said Ferraro.

“I hate the commentary, though,” he said. “It’s terrible.”

“The whole game is amazing,” said Alan Nunez, sophomore physical education major. “There is absolutely nothing bad about it.”

Becvar said the franchise is on an upswing after a couple of years of subpar games.

“Madden allows people to do on the virtual field things they can’t do on the real field,” said Becvar. “As long as EA keeps innovating Madden, people will keep buying it.” he said.

With consistent improvements in graphics and gameplay, the Madden franchise is sure to keep changing the game to make it more intense and realistic.

“I’m already tempted to see what next year’s Madden is going to look like,” Nunez said.