Building comparison
head to head
Empire: Total WarvsFaces of War
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Empire: Total War
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Gunpowder-era Total War blending empire management with line battles.
Faces of War
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A realistic WWII tactical squad-based strategy game about mission planning.
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Faces of War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarFaces of War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
Faces of War leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Real-time battle micro is modest
Faces of War
direct unit control requires some precision
Reads3 vs 2
Empire: Total War leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Empire: Total War
Multiplayer line-battle feints exist
Faces of War
AI and human opponents shift tactics somewhat
Variance3 vs 3
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Empire: Total War
Campaign AI and battle dice noise
Faces of War
combat outcomes have random elements
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Empire: Total War
Campaign economy and line-infantry tactics are mappable
Faces of War
squad tactics and mission planning deep
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.