head to head
vs
Age of EmpiresvsEmpires: Dawn of the Modern World
Age of Empires leans Optimization (Mind & Math); Empires: Dawn of the Modern World leans Optimization (Mind & Math).
Age of EmpiresEmpires: Dawn of the Modern World
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads6 vs 6
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 3
Age of Empires leans harder on variance: Fog of war and map resources
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.