Determine Carmine's fate in Gears of War 3, help Child's Play

The Carmine family is something of a running gag in the Gears of War franchise. More of a dying gag, really, considering a Carmine brother has suffered an undignified death in each game thus far. Naturally, we were all set to see another Carmine brother bite the big one in Gears of War 3 ... and then developer Epic Games threw a curve ball. Rather than putting a red shirt on the latest Carmine -- Clayton, the hulking brute you see above -- Epic is leaving his fate in your hands.

Starting July 29, players will be able to buy two new shirts on Avatar Marketplace, one emblazoned with "Save Carmine" and the other with "Carmine Must Die." Each shirt purchased counts as a vote toward one fate or the other. The winning vote will then be implemented in Gears of War 3. We'd call it shameless ploy to sell virtua-shirts, but the proceeds will go to the Child's Play charity.

If you're headed to Comic-Con this week, the NECA booth (#3145) will also be selling real versions of both shirts for $20. And yes, they do count as votes. Frankly, we'd like to see the Carmine family redeem itself, but we get the feeling that real Gears fans are kind of sadistic. We've placed a poll after the break to confirm our suspicions.