head to head
vs
Age of BootyvsEmpire: Total War
Age of Booty leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of BootyEmpire: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads4 vs 3
Age of Booty leans harder on reads: Human opponents in multiplayer add modest prediction
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization7 vs 8
Empire: Total War leans harder on optimization: Campaign economy and line-infantry tactics are mappable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.