head to head
vs
Empire: Total WarvsSongs of Conquest
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Songs of Conquest leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarSongs of Conquest
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads3 vs 3
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Songs of Conquest leans harder on variance: Resource tile placement and battle spell procs add variance
Optimization8 vs 9
Songs of Conquest leans harder on optimization: Wielder skill trees, unit stacking, and map control routing are the optimization core
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.