head to head
vs
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorvsStar Ocean: The Second Story
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Star Ocean: The Second Story leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorStar Ocean: The Second Story
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Star Ocean: The Second Story leans harder on execution: Real-time battle movement and hit-stun timing are performance-critical
Reads1 vs 0
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor leans harder on reads: Nemesis orcs remember you but remain mappable scripts
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 8
Star Ocean: The Second Story leans harder on optimization: Item creation exploitation and battle skills break the game when mastered
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.