head to head
vs
Age of History IIIvsEmpire: Total War
Age of History III leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of History IIIEmpire: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Empire: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle micro is modest
Reads4 vs 3
Age of History III leans harder on reads: AI nations follow doctrine; humans can adapt
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
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.