head to head
vs
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered KingdomvsMedieval II: Total War
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered KingdomMedieval II: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
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
Optimization8 vs 9
Medieval II: Total War leans harder on optimization: economy, unit counters, and campaign map strategy dominate
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.