Scenarios like those found in AOER offer:
A defensive scenario with a land bridge reasonably protected against a rush.
Choson Wars DM battle camp vs battle camp
Wonder Race
Deep forest scenario where you need to clear wood to make room to build.
There are many more including some AOM style maps like Anatolia with water on two sides of a large land mass.
The random maps that come with the game are still not balanced resource wise. Nor do the maps have much strategic variation as scenarios.
I agree the graphics and music can't be beaten. The gameplay is good. The UI takes some getting used to compared to the original but it's reasonably intuitive. The hotkeys are easier to use. It's just the maps that let it down again.
"To love Christ -means not to be a hireling, not to look upon a noble life as an enterprise or trade, but to be a true benefactor and to do everything only for the sake of love for God." St John Chrysostom
"When one returns to the Greek; it is like going into a garden of lilies out of some, narrow and dark house." -Oscar Wilde.