head to head
vs
Hitman 3vsMedieval II: Total War
Hitman 3 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Hitman 3Medieval II: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 2
Hitman 3 leans harder on execution: Inputs matter only at execution moments.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 3
Medieval II: Total War leans harder on variance: fog of war and event triggers hide some state
Optimization9 vs 9
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.