NHL ’14 Enforcer Engine Fighting Trailer: Reviewed

May 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; New York Rangers right wing

(15) and Boston Bruins center

(11) fight during the third period in game two of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Look, we can debate the merits of fighting in hockey until we’re blue in the face, but the one thing that’s not debatable is that there hasn’t been good fighting in a hockey game since the fights in Blades of Steel.  Remember the fighting in Nintendo’s Ice Hockey that was just a cloud of dust?  Pathetic.  Even the Swingers-popularized fighting in NHL ’93 is terrible.

This year the programmers at EA Sports decided to dive in head first, utilizing the same engine as in Fight Night to improve the fighting gameplay.  I have seen the future of hockey fights in video games, friends, and this is it.  The new trailer shows how EA’s new “Enforcer Engine” plays out.  The guys at Puck Daddy already broke down the features, but here’s what you really want; a blow-by-blow account of hte action:

0:03 – The ESRB deems this game to be only for ages 10+!  HAHAHAHA

0:14 – Right into the fighting gameplay.  That can’t be gameplay action, right?  It has to be a video programmed to look like faux gameplay.  HAS to be.

0:30 – Dan Carcillo squares off against Cody McLeod of Colorado.  For the record, these two have never actually fought.  This fight happens and McLeod beats the tenacity out of Carcillo.  I had to watch some of his work and it is sublime.

0:38 – Holy heck, that video earlier was the gameplay.  This is too good to be true, it can’t be gameplay.

0:44 – Andrew Ference takes Claude Giroux out and Brayden Coburn skates in to take the code to the next level…in video game form.  Unbelievable.

1:14 – Ahh, the Stache, George Parros.  You had to know he’d be involved in a fighting trailer.

1:30 – Milan Lucic has gone from drafted, to overrated, to underrated and is now approaching fair value in these playoffs.  Big fan.  I like in this video he is calling out Travis Moen here too.  I also like that the good folks of EA are providing some Bruins/Canadians stuff here.  Shout out to the programmers at EA.

1:36 – I like that the bruising stays with a player the whole game, but that is a VERY quickly earned bruise.  Either Barrett Jackman is a softie or Dustin Brown should reinvent himself as the hardest punching pound for pound boxer in the world.

1:44 – GOALIE FIGHTS!  Yes!  If we end up fighting online, I get Ray Emery.  The guy had Mike Tyson on his mask for crying out loud.

1:53 – No no no!  End this spot after the release dates, please.  No more Sean Ramjagsingh in a motion capture suit.  It’s a sight that can’t be unseen and I’m worse for seeing it.  Imagine a turtle out of it’s shell, covered in light bulbs.  Shout out to Sean in general, he’s one of the leads who’s taken this franchise further than anyone ever thought, but come on.  No more shots of you in undergarments.

All in all, good stuff.  I’m really looking forward to the release in September, and if you want to play online before then tweet me directly and we can set something up.  If you want to tangle with NHL ’94, I’m sure we could find a way.  No Blackhawks, no cheapos.

Mike