head to head
vs
Call of Duty 3vsSoldier of Fortune: Payback
Call of Duty 3 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Soldier of Fortune: Payback leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Call of Duty 3Soldier of Fortune: Payback
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads3 vs 2
Call of Duty 3 leans harder on reads: Multiplayer adds modest human positional prediction
Variance2 vs 1
Call of Duty 3 leans harder on variance: Scripted setpieces and spawn flow add minor unknowns
Optimization3 vs 3
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.