head to head
vs
Contra III: The Alien WarsvsDoom Eternal
Contra III: The Alien Wars leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Doom Eternal leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Contra III: The Alien WarsDoom Eternal
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Doom Eternal leans harder on reads: Demon AI is scripted, not adaptive.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Doom Eternal leans harder on optimization: Resource loops and weapon priority are solvable.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.