head to head
vs
Age of Empires II: HD EditionvsStar Wars: Empire at War
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Star Wars: Empire at War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of Empires II: HD EditionStar Wars: Empire at War
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 3
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans harder on execution: click speed and micro help but secondary
Reads4 vs 5
Star Wars: Empire at War leans harder on reads: Multiplayer galactic feints and fleet composition mind-games matter
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 8
Age of Empires II: HD Edition leans harder on optimization: build orders and economy are near-solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.