head to head
vs
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered KingdomvsRome: Total War
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Rome: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Knights and Merchants: The Shattered KingdomRome: Total War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
Rome: Total War leans harder on execution: Real-time battle micro rewards quick unit handling
Reads1 vs 2
Rome: Total War leans harder on reads: Optional multiplayer battles; campaign AI is mappable
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
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.