head to head
vs
Imperator: RomevsMedieval II: Total War
Imperator: Rome leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Imperator: RomeMedieval II: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Medieval II: Total War leans harder on execution: real-time battle micro is modest
Reads2 vs 1
Imperator: Rome leans harder on reads: AI scripted
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
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.