head to head

Planetary Annihilation cover artvsRise of Nations cover art

Planetary AnnihilationvsRise of Nations

Planetary Annihilation leans Optimization (Mind & Math); Rise of Nations leans Optimization (Mind & Math).

EXECUTION5 /10READS6 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10
Planetary AnnihilationRise of Nations

Axis by axis

Execution5 vs 5

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads6 vs 7

Rise of Nations leans harder on reads: Opponent nation pick and age-rush timing must be predicted

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.

full breakdown

Planetary Annihilation

full breakdown

Rise of Nations