head to head
vs
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of LibertyvsPayday 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Payday 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of LibertyPayday 2
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 6
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty leans harder on reads: Guards radio for backup on scripted triggers, not adaptive tactics
Variance2 vs 4
Payday 2 leans harder on variance: Random vault locations, guard patrols, and escrow rolls
Optimization7 vs 6
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty leans harder on optimization: Chokepoint memorisation and radar manipulation are learnable and repeatable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.