It seems like the PC games that I am playing lately all revolve around running a shop or store of some type, maybe I need to play more racing games or maybe these are just what's "in" in the PC gaming world right now... I don't know. But, I do know that I played Sara's Super Spa today on Shockwave.com and found that the game was challenging and even bordered on the hard levet - and I was playing it on easy mode! So, here is my review of Sara's Super Spa and what you should expect, should you choose to play.
Game Basics - You are a new Spa owner and you have to learn how to keep your new clients happy and still make money at the same time. In your spa, you have tanning, hair styling, facial treatments, and products to sell. Each of these different stations will require you to do something, such as wash and dry hair, apply mud masks and take them off, cut hair and dye it, time the tanning booth, and sell products to the customers. But, this is harder than it sounds. When the client sits down, you click on them and they will tell you what they want. For example, when you wash the hair, you have to wet it completely (it changes color in different shades so you know when it's done), then lather in specific areas of the head, and then dry the hair completely. All of these different things are done on a timer, which is usually really short - like 25 or less seconds. So, if you are not fast with your mouse, then you will fail that part. As you are working on one client, others will walk in, and you can even forget and leave the person in the tanning booth if you aren't careful.
Personally, I did not play past the third day or so because the game is actually pretty hard for what it is. Now, this is not to say that you might not enjoy it - I just did not. It seems that it takes too long to take care of your customers and by the time that you get to others, even if you have a system down, you still lose money. I did not really like that it is so hard even on the easy level, so I can not imagine how hard the hard level is.
Graphics - Well, this is one area where the game gets a 5 out of 5 from me. The graphics are all clear and crisp, no rough edges, and everything works good when you are working on customers. But, when you are looking at the shop, it is too small to begin with so you have a hard time seeing everything if you are not right up close. For anyone who has bad eyesight, or who hates to squint... this is not the game for you. But, the graphics themselves are really good - they are really similar to those avatar people that you can create on some web sites, like Shockwave, that move their heads from side to side and such. So, that is what your clients will look like.
Overall, I give this game a 2 out of 5 just because I did not like it at all. It was way too hard and there was no true way to win or get any better if it was that hard to start with. I give it a 2 instead of a 1 only because the graphics are good.