head to head
vs
Metroid Prime 2: EchoesvsWaking Mars
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Waking Mars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Metroid Prime 2: EchoesWaking Mars
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 3
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes leans harder on execution: lock-on combat, harsher but still forgiving aim
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Waking Mars leans harder on optimization: Engineering stable ecosystems to hit biomass targets is the game
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.