Fans of the Gears of War franchise are probably familiar with the poor, doomed Carmine family through the running joke that sent brothers Anthony and Ben to their horrible deaths in the first two games. But for the upcoming third title in the series, the death-friendly family will have the chance to make it all the way through the game when the hulking badass Clayton Carmine (pictured above) makes his debut. Or maybe not. Whether Clayton enters Gears of War 3 with a target on his head and a ticker counting down his remaining minutes until a gruesome and brutal death awaits him, or if he bucks the trends and makes it to the end, is up to the fans of the series.
Microsoft announced that beginning on July 29, fans will be able to vote on Clayton’s fate by purchasing one of two t-shirts for your Xbox Live avatar: the first reads “Save Carmine”, while the other reads “Carmine Must Die”. No word on how much each shirt will cost, but the proceeds will go to Child’s Play, a community-based charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood of ComicCon, you can also stop by the NECA booth and purchase the real life t-shirts, each for $20, which also count as votes.
Gears of War 3, which is being very specifically called the “trilogy finale”, meaning that while this storyline might end, others could follow, is due out on April 5, 2011. Check out the shirts below, but sadly, the “Carmine Must Die” t-shirt seems much cooler…