head to head
vs
Rome: Total WarvsThe Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
Rome: Total War leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Rome: Total WarThe Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 4
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring leans harder on execution: RTS micro and hotkey speed help but ceilings are low
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Rome: Total War leans harder on optimization: Campaign economy, recruitment, and battle tactics are solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.