head to head
vs
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2vsMetal Slug 5
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Metal Slug 5 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2Metal Slug 5
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization4 vs 3
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 leans harder on optimization: Geom collection and mode-specific strategies raise the ceiling
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.