The goal of EPA regs is less emissions. That means burning cleaner and more efficiently. Many newer stoves (but not all) require stronger draft because the air is channeled to provide a clean glass (for a great fire view) and some for preheating the secondary air supply and distributing it via small holes in secondary tubes. These stoves will burn semi-dry wood, I just ran through a cord of damp maple, but the heat output will be poorer and coaling a bit worse. When fed dry wood one gets the best of all worlds, longer cleaner burning, more heat, less wood consumed and a nice view of the fire.
There's another important difference from the old steel boxes and many of today's stoves - shielding. That old Schrader felt great in the cold cabin because there was nothing between the fire and you besides a sheet of steel. Many modern stoves are showing up in nicer living rooms where space is at a premium. Heat shielding has become more common to reduce clearance requirements. This has nothing to do with the EPA. Like air-washed glass doors this is just a concurrent development based on user demand. If you want a more radiant stove look at models without shielding like the Drolet Austral and Myriad, or castiron stoves from Jotul like the F400, F500 & F600. The cast iron Quadrafire Isle Royale is both an easy breathing stove and highly radiant, yet it meets current EPA specs.
Want to know a bit more about how these old boxes burned? Here is an interesting test of several conventional boxes including the Schrader.
http://www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/conference/ei16/session5/victor.pdf