head to head
vs
Empire: Total WarvsOriental Empires
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Oriental Empires leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarOriental Empires
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Empire: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle micro is modest
Reads3 vs 4
Oriental Empires leans harder on reads: Multiplayer rewards anticipating rivals, but AI is scripted
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
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.