-Aurthurian : Total War - complex and difficult
-Rise of Persia - beta with little scripting, interesting time frame
-Fourth Age : Total War : Corsair Invasion - more of a demo than beta, nice for all the Tolkien fans

I have played Troy : Total War and Rome : Total Realism and they were both ok though simple compared to their imidate peers.

I am really anxiously awaiting Hegemonia : City States, very promising Classical Greece mod. And of course awaiting the completion of EB.