Whether you agree with it or not, fighting is a relatively big part of National Hockey League games. Players battle for supremacy with their bodies and their sticks, but more is sometimes needed if something is deemed overly egregious. That, or if a couple of tough guys feel like proving themselves, with the hope of swinging the momentum in their favour. Sure, it may not be incredibly popular as debates continue over whether or not the practice is a blight on the game, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll be leaving anytime soon.
In order to improve its incredible hockey series by making it more realistic, while also doing something for those who love fisticuffs, EA Canada has gone with tech from its Fight Night engine for NHL 14. As you’ll see in the brand new reveal trailer, which is featured below for your viewing pleasure, the newly-monikered Enforcer Engine has made quite a difference by creating more lifelike scenarios. That means lightweights will have trouble dealing with heavyweights, like they should, and players will stick up for their teammates whenever they feel they’ve been taken advantage of by an opposing skater. As such, the need for manually instigating all fights is no longer a part of the experience.
NHL 14 will be out on September 10, and I, frankly, cannot wait to play it. The series has always been a personal favourite, and its quality, especially over recent years, has been outstanding. The addition of the Skill Stick certainly helped things reach an unbelievable level of realism, then the developer took things a step further with last year’s recreated skating mechanics.
It’ll be incredibly interesting to see what next year’s iteration will be like on Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
