head to head
vs
FreeSpace 2vsNieR
FreeSpace 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); NieR leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
FreeSpace 2NieR
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
FreeSpace 2 leans harder on execution: Energy management and joystick dogfighting under pressure
Reads1 vs 0
FreeSpace 2 leans harder on reads: Scripted mission AI
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 5
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.