Playstation Educational Video Games

China: The Forbidden City

• "China: The Forbidden City," from the French game development company Cryo, struggles to re-create in as much detail as possible the Forbidden City in Beijing, where the Emperor and his court resided, as it was in the 18th century.

  As players explore the city and talk to its residents, they learn the rituals and culture of the royal court. The goal in the game is to solve the mystery of a murdered eunuch, uncovering a trail of blackmail and treason as they work through the game. In the process, players gain an encyclopedia of knowledge about the buildings, customs and lives of the Chinese emperor and the people who served him.

Egypt 1156 BC: Tomb of the Pharaoh

• Another game from the French edutainment company Cryo, "Egypt 1156 BC: Tomb of the Pharaoh" carries players off to Egypt circa 1156 B.C. As in "China: The Forbidden City," the game is ostensibly about an investigator's quest to solve a crime. This time, it's a tomb robbery, and the main character's father is a prime suspect. Unless players can clear the father's name in three days, the Pharaoh will be forced to take action.

  The storyline is an excuse to present players with the immaculately reconstructed world of ancient Egypt as they explore tombs and temples and meet characters that range from nobility to poor villagers in a workshop. Players learn about topics ranging from embalming and religious rituals to the detailed workings of the ancient Egyptian political system.

Elmo's Letter Adventure

• "Elmo's Letter Adventure" is an edutainment title for preschoolers in which the "Sesame Street" puppet and others from the show teach the alphabet in a series of worlds. The first is Big Bird's farm, the second is an outer space world through which players travel with Grover, and the last is an under-the-sea setting hosted by Ernie.

  Players travel through the worlds, grabbing the letters they are told to get by their muppet hosts. On harder difficulty levels, they may be required instead to identify the letters missing from a word and run around the level hunting them down.