head to head
vs
Mark of the NinjavsRatchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Mark of the Ninja leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Mark of the NinjaRatchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Mark of the Ninja leans harder on optimization: Distraction sequencing, upgrade paths, and ghost-score routing are solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.