I really like this mode and agree with the OP. Plus, even boring, repetitive maps like FF and Barracks get a bit more life in this game mode.
It's quite a rush trying to balance staying alive for a reasonable amount of the timer with being useful to your team. It's nerve wracking (in a good way) hoping that your commander will use your attacking reinforcements at the right time.
For me, it feels much more immersively like a chain of situations you would get through the course of a battle than TE, which is very gamey.
Only downside is that your concentration has to be at maximum the whole time, so it feels like work aft a while rather than the escapism of TE, with its quieter moments as balance.