Absolutely. They're similar enough so that experience from one will carry over to the other. Beating MSR certainly gave me a headstart on PGR.
PGR contains most of the tracks from MSR, except for the NYC tracks, which are completely new. I think the Xbox controller is perfect for PGR, moreso than the DC pad.
As far as difficulty goes, it's hard to tell for me....MSR actually takes Kudos away from you for crashes, but after completing the first few chapters Kudos don't become such a big deal (except for Special Races). However, PGR's real test to get some of the Kudos combos that are required of you. I'd have to say that PGR is probably more difficult, mostly because of the Bronze/Silver/Gold challenges. It also seems to me that the PGR AI is tougher. That's not to say MSR won't test you, though - some of the races are pretty brutal.
Overall, I'd say if you completed MSR in its entirety, you shouldn't have too much trouble with PGR, but you would have to adjust your driving for the Kudos changes, and learn the NYC tracks from scratch.
Bookmarks