Don't be deceived by this. Beneath the makeup lies a sexy, smooth, well-rounded and very playable game. Now you can order your units into different formations whilst moving into battle, and command them to adopt a particular stance. Instead of them attacking enemy units at random you can order them to stand guard, have a defensive or attack stance, or no attack stance at all. This really helps to execute a plan with a great deal more precision.
Villagers speak their native tongue.
If, for example, you play the Chinese civilisation your units will acknowledge your commands with authentic little utterings that sound like snippets off an oriental take away menu. Not a great way to learn a new language, but it is cute and sounds authentic. This explains the path for civilisations to advance. This is better integrated into the game than before, and is permanently available as an on line reference. The original AOE was rather sexist with an all-male cast of villagers and fighters.