head to head
vs
Empire: Total WarvsWar Selection
Empire: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); War Selection leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Empire: Total WarWar Selection
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
War Selection leans harder on execution: Some real-time control but not twitch-focused.
Reads3 vs 4
War Selection leans harder on reads: Human opponents in multiplayer require some prediction.
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.