head to head
vs
Medieval: Total WarvsThief II: The Metal Age
Medieval: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Thief II: The Metal Age leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Medieval: Total WarThief II: The Metal Age
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 3
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 1
Medieval: Total War leans harder on reads: Multiplayer battles add human feints; campaign AI is scripted
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 9
Thief II: The Metal Age leans harder on optimization: Loot routing and tool economy are fully optimisable once learned
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.