I'm biased, not so much because I work for HG but more because I've gotten to play a version of the full game for over a month. I like AoE3 I like it a lot, it has some big ass shoes to fill. Some people think it is filling the shoes some don't. Sequels to highly rated games are very hard to pull off (this is one of the reasons there is no Star Craft 2). I think that AoE3 captures enough of a new flavor while still sticking close enough to AoK to be acceptable as a "good" sequel.
I like that there is a lot of game altering options to make while playing, I don't really like having to leave the game screen for shipments, I am not a fan of the big UI (I have said this since I first got the preview), I am not a fan of naval combat (never have been in any RTS).
I do like that shipments can mean the difference of win lose so if a player feels the need they can save a shipment just for a response for if they are being atatcked. I do like that the units have their roles (they may seem similar now but like just about all historical RTS games that have been produced in the past 4 years most units are hard to tell apart at first) once you get used to their animations you will be able to tell them apart very easily. I love the diversity in civs, each plays very differently and for that I give ES a huge hug *hugs*, now it matters how you play base on civs as well as skill.
Over all AoE3 lives up to the Age name, there are new things and features that are hard for a lot of AoK vets to grasp (took me a few days of nonstop playing to get used to the HCs and what cards are "really" needed). If you look at what the age games did is they put you in the timeline, AoE gave me the Empire building feel, AoK brought the history of the great kingdoms to my PC, and now AoE3 helps to set me in the new world. You can't expect AoE3 to be a carbon copy of AoK gameplay... it would be a horrible game. I think the gameplay changes made were fitting for the timeline of the game. No drop sites could reflect that settlers had to live off the land and didn't have to give everything to the governments like they did in AoE/AoK (of course that's just a personal reason for it, other may have their own thoughts). ranged combat was paramount in the new world, I think personally that ES did a fine job at trying to keep ranged and melee combat in a decent balance, works pretty well.
Now there are a million things I could nitpick at, some have merit (big UI) some don't have much merit (finding a bear that can be used as a unit) but if it really doesn't play that huge a role in imbalancing the game I feel it's fine. What matters most to me is having an updated historical RTS that plays well online, AoE3 not only follows in the footsteps of AoE and AoK but it also adds a lot of depth to the franchise, a lot more strategic appeal. Of course I am also not a fan of hour long games, so I fancy AoE3's faster paced action to that of the slower AoK experience.
Overall I think a lot of people are reading WAY too much into AoE3 trying to mimic AoK and aren't coming to the realization that it's a completely seperate time period that will of course need seperate gameplay elements to realize.
AoE3 gets a thumbs up from me, not because i work for HG or I know people at ES but because the game plays well, plain and simple (though If one day I find that bears are too OP I will request their removal but until then my only gripe is I can't name my bear )TGE