An online only game in an era where it was really uncommon. This and the rushing of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (GC, Xbox, PC) was what caused EA Seattle to close down (technically the staff were told just before release). Servers didn't even last two years, reviews just seemed to praise the graphics, plans for French and German releases were cancelled and wasn't officially released outside of the US as you were lucky to even have the Internet at home never mind paying per minute pre-broadband prices. Funnily enough, a lot of that STILL applies today regarding online only games (server closures, graphics over gameplay, limited beta/countries, studio closures, fees changed to microtransactions or gacha mechanics).

Still it didn't stop EA from making online Need for Speed games.