head to head
vs
Civilization: Beyond EarthvsMedieval II: Total War
Civilization: Beyond Earth leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Civilization: Beyond EarthMedieval II: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 1
Civilization: Beyond Earth leans harder on reads: Faction AI uses static scripts, not player-reactive strategies
Variance4 vs 3
Civilization: Beyond Earth leans harder on variance: Alien spawns and fog of war add manageable hidden elements
Optimization9 vs 9
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.