Here is a great example for needing a change. Last night we were facing La Capitan, and things were not going great. She had several crew out there. So at the beginning of the turn we have to read the full text of 5+ cards, because the order between start of villan turn, and end of villan turn effects varies between cards ("Chip" is a good example of an end of turn listed before a start of turn effect). Then at the end of her turn we get to re-read all of the text we just read. Over and over, game after game because there is no consistancy, nor symbology.
Contrast that with a game that uses a ton of iconography, Race for the Galaxy. The cards are filled with symbols. For the first 2 or 3 games, there were a lot of references to the helper cards. Now our group can pick that game up after not playing for 7-10 months and we remeber what they mean. Yet we have played SotM every week for the last 2.5 months and we have to read the full text of each card every turn. It is easily adding 30% tot he length of each game. It is the one thing that garners the most grumbling in our group, it is actually one of the only things the whole group has ever agreed on disliking, usually people are on both sides, but this had us in agreement.
It's not that it is a massive, catastrophic issue, but it is a large negative that nags at us every turn, of every game, of every session in which we play, and that shouldn't be ignored.