Not a "game" for the bus... But will it let you hook up with the foreign language speaker of your dreams?
Everyone else keeps putting 'game' in quotes (and I will too). Why? Because this is not a game that you're going to play sitting on the bus! (Although you could do the Listening Game with headphones.) But it does have two main games designed for language learners to practice with. Finish them and unlock others and maybe some Easter Eggs too--the menus have quite a few blanks filled with question marks!
Here are the 'game' elements:
LISTENING GAME: Max says 4-6 sentences, depending on difficulty level, in the language you want to practice. As he says them, the meaning is given on-screen in your language. Then, he repeats one of the sentences/phrases and you have to choose it from a multiple choice list.
PRONUNCIATION GAME: Max says a phrase/sentence in the language you want to practice. You have to repeat it into the mic. You're graded (rather strictly!) on how well you match the tone and pronunciation. Really fun to hand the PSP to a native speaker and watch them get graded a 'B' (or worse!) on speaking their own language! Not one to play on your daily commute on the subway!
Many people are confused thinking Talkman is only for Japanese people learning English. NOT SO! It should tell you something that it appears the same software is used for release in all four of the countries represented in the game: English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Mandarin). Korean person learning Japanese? English speaker learning Chinese? Any combination! At start up, you choose "your language" which sets ALL the menus and Max's voice. Later it asks for the language you want to practice. Either language can be changed at anytime. This allows you to switch "your language" to a native persons' language, hand them the PSP and let them have fun with it! They'll be able to read all the menus and, as the software is very easy to learn, they'll have most of it figured out in a few minutes so they can talk to you. TALK TO YOU?!? Yes. Read on...
Say you happen to be abducted by aliens and when they return you to earth they accidentally drop you in Japan, Korea, or China instead of the US... then with Talkman you'll be able to get a hotel, order dinner in a restaurant, talk with the police, etc.
TALK MODE is an electronic phrasebook that let's you speak into the micorphone, "I have a fever" and Max (your on-screen bird buddy) will repeat it for you in the other language of your choice. You can then hand the PSP to (for example) a foreign doctor who says, "xxoxx ooxoxox xxooxo?" in his/her language, and Max will translate it into "Do you have any alergies?" in your language. It seems to use keyword recognition. Saying just, "fever" brings up a list of sentence choices. Highlight the one you want, press the button and Max says it for you and prints it on screen.
The phrases in Talk Mode are divided into sections such as restaurant, hospital, hotel, golfing, meeting people, sightseeing, etc. This seems to help speed up the voice recognition: If you're trying to tell the policeman your wallet is lost, Max doesn't have to listen to see if you're asking for the wine list! A good thing too, as load times can be slow--about :30 seconds to go from the main menu to either Game Mode or Talk Mode. But once you're in Talk Mode, less than :05 seconds to switch between different scenes (i.e.-airport to shopping). Once you're in a scene, the actual phrase recognition only takes a second or two!
So what about what you really want to know? Several people in the forum mention using it to hook up with the foreign language speaker of their dreams. It'll definitely help there--mostly as a conversation starter in a bar if nothing else. So how far can you go with Talkman? Well, you can tell someone they're beautiful or tell them you love them, but it looks like the phrases stop just after, "Would you like to come back to my place?" I'm sure creative people will find a way to use the 'doctor' phrases to ask someone to, "Please lie down." There's a point where the language of love takes over and you would send a human translator out of the room also.
SUMMARY: If your learning one of the included languages or traveling to one of the included countries on your own without being able to speak the language, this "game" is a definite must have!