It happened with 4 x 4 games and now it's happened in the rally games sector; Pro Rally 2001 has been released at the same time as the benchmark Colin MacRae Rally 2.0. Wisely Ubi Soft have opted for an almost purely arcade-style racer to differentiate from the simulation-fest that is Colin 2.0, but its rival's arcade mode erodes the territory.So it's nice graphics, shame about the competing games. Before CMR2, the sim-freaks were racing away with Rally Championship and V-Rally 2 for an arcade/console buzz. Add to this the near total lack of damage and picky collision detection and the game's more frustrating than rewarding. The saving grace is the driving-school mode for accessing further stages in championship mode. Ultimately, don't buy without a demo first--and even then there are three recent rivals that are easily better. --Kenneth Henry