I would say that, in essence, they didn't really succeed at what they were doing. The claim was that C&C would be like old school RC D&D or AD&D 1st. Instead, what it really ended up being was a simplified version of D&D 3.x with some nostalgia slapped on like a coat of paint.
On the other hand, that doesn't mean C&C is bad. Its still playable, and now it actually has a setting worth playing in what with Necromancer deciding to shift the Wilderlands/Invincible Overlord setting over to C&C (that automatically adds another coat of nostalgia paint on top of C&C, btw).
Its just, if you really want Old School, you have to go Old School. I know that between C&C and The Rules Cyclopedia, I'm going with the RC every time.
RPGPundit