head to head
vs
Empire: Total WarvsThe Settlers: Fourth Edition
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Settlers: Fourth Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarThe Settlers: Fourth Edition
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
The Settlers: Fourth Edition leans harder on execution: Indirect control keeps hands mostly idle
Reads3 vs 3
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
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.