When I was demoing NHL 14 at E3 this year, I asked some of the producers how they felt about releasing a popular sports franchise on current-gen hardware when the next-gen hardware is right around the corner. I certainly didn't expect them to admit that they were annoyed to not be able to join the next-party, but it was surprising to hear them say how much fun they were having making NHL 14. They felt that it allowed them to focus completely on gameplay balance and game systems before moving onto the new hardware for next year.

As I've mentioned before, this move by EA is hardly unprecedented. Back in 2005, they opted not to participate in the Xbox 360 release for hockey, and they effectively took a year off to work on a new graphical engine and the skill stick. I'd say this was time well spent. I'd expect that something similar is happening this time around, with the PS4 and Xbox One coming out around the same time, but EA doesn't seem to be tipping their hand. It's conceivable that they've broken off a smaller team to work on visuals, audio presentation and gameplay innovation for the new hardware in next year's release. Still, not surprisingly, the team at EA Vancouver is focusing on this year's game, and so they should.

There's plenty to do in terms of fixing core gameplay in NHL 14, and from what I played at E3, I think they've made some meaningful strides in addressing certain areas of the game that were lacking or that had gone astray. Make no mistake: the new hitting and fighting do have a big impact on the game (pun intended), and they are a lot of fun. The hitting wasn't nearly good enough in the last couple of years, and you often had silly hip-checks and players bumping off of each other. This year gets it right by factoring size into the equation and creating hits that feel organic to the flow of the game. The same goes for fighting, which was basically ridiculous before but now is a lot of fun and actually organic to the game.
 

By not overreaching with next-gen hardware too quickly, EA was also able to address the skating engine for defense, allowing players to properly face attackers while using crossovers to close the distance. This creates less scenarios where players don't turn around in time and let an attacker fly by them. The poke-check and stick sweep have been improved, so now you have to glide in order to be rewarded. You can't fly after people at top speed with a poke-check. If you do, a penalty is likely to occur.

Again, these are all meaningful changes that can happen in this generation because they're more about gameplay scenarios and iteration than they are about processing more high-def polygons and recording tons of new play-by-play stuff. We still don't even know about the “Live the Life” mode, and that could end up being something special, if it's been thought about with same level of care as the gameplay changes.

With all this said, there are still aspects of the game that need to change, and I'm glad the team at EA Vancouver will have an extra year to conduct due diligence. For example, the next generation of hockey games would really stand to benefit from players who actually play their roles and seem more unique. Much like what PES 2014 is trying to do, it would be nice to see hockey players who use their size, go to the net, play on the perimeter, grind on the boards, etc. Of course, the current games have shades of that, but you never get the sense that you're a distinct player on a team; it feels more like you're a player with higher or lower stats in hitting, deking and so on. I would hope the extra memory — and cloud processing — allow for more sophisticated AI systems and teams that play with certain strategies.

The extra development time for next-gen hockey also gives EA time to think about how their presentation should improve. Do we really need the same commentary team again and again? What about the cinematic presentation of the broadcast? It would certainly be nice to have some revised interstitials and cutscenes, and the return of the five-man celebration after goals would be more than welcome. Also, if NHL is going to use the “Living Worlds” concept from other next-gen EA titles, then I'd like to see a fully realized crowd that looks and sounds the part. Presentation elements could even be added from within the crowd to create more of a television flavor.
 

It would be great to see the next-gen version of NHL address the defensive side of the game as well. I liked the adjustments to poke-checking and movement in my play time with NHL 14 at E3, but the series needs to promote the defensive aspects of hockey as much as it does the offensive stuff. Give players more control over how they shadow, check and harass players. There should be shutdown guys out there that are miserable to play against. That side of the game needs to be a core feature in the next generation.

But we can't forget about goaltenders, as they also need to feel the love. I liked the fact that they looked more human, albeit on Pro difficulty, during the E3 demo, as it allowed some one-timer goals to go in. It was also cool to see some revised glove save animations. But this extra time should allow EA to really think about how goalies play in different ways and ride momentum during a game. This should also translate to the manual goalie portion of the game, which hasn't seen much revision in several years.

Surely online modes can also benefit from the power of the cloud and increased memory. How will the EASHL evolve with all of this horsepower? I truly hope this means a fully realized GM Connected mode with no waiting for load screens and menus. Dedicated servers provided by MS (and Sony, presumably) means that games should all be quick and smooth, with maximum player counts not hindering the experience in any way. I'd like to think that the team at EA Vancouver has been holding back with some of their crazier online ideas, and this extra year and additional power will give them the green light to go wild.

I still believe that there is a lot to get excited about in NHL 14. The game seems like it as achieving a nice gameplay balance while adding in some much needed revision to the physical aspects of the game. That said, there is now room for the team to think creatively over the next 12 months. They have the luxury of watching what Madden, FIFA, NBA and UFC do at the launch (or launch window) of the new consoles. It's possible that some users may skip NHL 14 based on the shadow of the next generation, but EA is trying to make a case, through gameplay, as to why they shouldn't. Either way, this next 12 months will prove critical to the future of the franchise and its potential audience.