Making things too different from EoE would be pretty dumb imo, as EoE is freaking brilliant. But, yeah, Shinji wanting to actually save Asuka as well as how Asuka woke up were some key differences, along with Gendo's scenes.
Misato is dead, but I like how she took out those soldiers with her here. Asuka is still handling herself well, but her timer is running down quickly. Shinji pleading for his mother to help and Unit 01 answering the call was cool, I hope he makes it in time.....