Has Karl Kombatmage Met His Match in Carter Hollis' "Trencher?"

New PolyPOV Shadowrunner Sim from MegaMedia Set to Challenge Cliber's Sim Epic

April 4th, 2057

Los Angeles, CFS: A few years ago, Hans Cliber took the sim world by storm with his ground-breaking shadowrunner sim "Karl Kombatmage." This sim, which showed the mundane world how it felt to access the astral plane, cast magic spells, as well as drive a motorcycle up a man's face, took the entertainment industry by storm, and taught media execs the world over three important lessons: 

Karl Kombatmage along with Franz and Uli

1: Magic can be chipped!

2: Karl Kombatmage made millions!

3: The "Shadowrun" genre, once thought tacky and outdated, is back with a vengeance and here to stay!

Cliber and his team are already hard at work on the much anticipated Karl Kombatmage 2, and the matrix is buzzing with excitement after leaked footage of the western dragon Nebelherr put to rest all rumors that the long awaited dragon scene was done with special effects.  KK2 is expected to soar above the box office records set by its predecessor, and Cliber continues to be one of the hottest names in the sim industry.

Hollis as Trencher in Hit Squad: The True Story

That said, Cliber and his creation may be in for a tough fight this summer;  up and coming simstar Carter Hollis is set to star in Hit Squad: The True Story, a major shadowrun sim due out a month before Karl Kombatmage 2 hits the streets. 

Hollis is already a rising star in the industry, having starred in dramas like Eventide, A Wish Before Dying, and That Ork is My Son, and the comedies Carlos?!, With Friends Like These, and Be the Cheese, Douglas.  This new sim, however will see Hollis stepping into a whole new realm as an artist.  That's because his character, the hard-bitten "street samurai" named Trencher, is based on a real shadowrunner, and the Hit Squad sim itself is entirely based on real events!

To research the role, Hollis had facial reconstruction to "become" Trencher, and then went underground among real shadowrunner groups.  When asked why such dangerous research was necessary, Hollis told NEWSFAX:

"Authenticity is everything in sim, do you follow me?  I'm always saying, you don't act sim, you live sim.  To make it real, it had to be real, to me.  Now, I've been on the inside, and I know what it's like to persp it out during a run, when you're locked in a box and your air is running out.  Will you make it out in time?  Can you keep it null persp when security's looming over you, larger than life?  Will you crack under that pressure, or snap your claws and get the job done?  It's a tough thing, you understand?  But see, I've been there.  And now when I look at the other shadowrun sims, I see how Hollywood they are, do you feel me?    Driving a motorcycle up a man's face while shooting people and casting spells?  That's Hollywood.  That's not real.  It's not true. A backflip?  Sure, that's real, but motorcycles on the face?  No, chummer.  Real shadowrunners don't do that.  They don't meet dragons, they don't go clubbing, and their girlfriends don't get kidnapped evil gangers.  They don't even have girlfriends.  They're not cool, do you feel me?  They're hard.  They don't even have social lives.  All they do is prep the next wiz takedown."

Hollis purportedly insisted on numerous changes to the script to make Hit Squad "less Hollywood" and "more real."  While some critics say that the changes he made cause the sim to deviate from the actual events on which it is based, Carter believes the changes add authenticity to the sim.  He gave a few hints to NEWSFAX:

"Do you know anything about crabs?  Shadowrunners are basically crabs.  In their souls, at least, do you feel me?  Think about it:  Crabs are armored, like runners.  They've got claws, and runners are always armed to the teeth.  In fact, when they say "tooth and claw," that's what they mean.  Crabs can breath air and water, and runners can too with the right gear.  Most importantly though: while the rest of the world walks forward, crabs go sideways.  They say "frak you world! I'm goin' sideways!"  And that's just what shadowrunners do, but with, like, their lives, do you feel me?"

Hollis as Trencher, along with the rest of Hit Squad will be coming to sim in early July.