head to head
vs
Arma TacticsvsEmpire: Total War
Arma Tactics leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Arma TacticsEmpire: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Empire: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle micro is modest
Reads3 vs 3
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 3
Arma Tactics leans harder on variance: Hit chance and randomized missions add real randomness
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.