head to head
vs
Medieval II: Total WarvsOriginal War
Medieval II: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Original War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Medieval II: Total WarOriginal War
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 3
Original War leans harder on execution: Real-time control with modest pace
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 8
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.