head to head
vs
Medieval: Total WarvsZ: Steel Soldiers
Medieval: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Z: Steel Soldiers leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Medieval: Total WarZ: Steel Soldiers
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 3
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 3
Z: Steel Soldiers leans harder on reads: Human skirmishes exist but most play is vs scripted AI
Variance3 vs 3
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.