head to head
vs
Def Jam: IconvsGears of War 2
Def Jam: Icon leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Gears of War 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Def Jam: IconGears of War 2
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads4 vs 4
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Gears of War 2 leans harder on variance: Horde spawns add mild randomness
Optimization4 vs 5
Gears of War 2 leans harder on optimization: Power-weapon timing and positioning 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.