Epic Games and the Child’s Play charity are calling on Xbox gamers to help decide the fate of one Clayton Carmine, the third Carmine brother to be introduced to the Gears of War universe when Gears of War 3 releases in April next year.

If you’ve played previous Gears of War games, you’ll know that the Carmine brothers don’t really ‘handle’ combat situations very well, and end up meeting a grizzly death in both the original Gears of War, as well as Gears of War 2. While these deaths serve a purpose (teaching players about this or that dangerous element in the games), they’re no less unfortunate.

Now, you and your fellow Xbox community will be able to decide the fate of Clayton Carmine in Gears of War 3 simply by purchasing one of two Xbox Avatar items via Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Starting July 29th, you’ll be able to buy either a ‘Save Carmine’ or ‘Carmine Must Die’ Avatar T-shirt in Xbox LIVE Marketplace. By doing so, not only will you be voting for Carmine’s ultimate fate in Gears of War 3, but you’ll also be contributing to the Child’s Play charity, as proceeds from the purchases go to the organisation.

To make things really tough, they should make the ‘Carmine Must Die’ Avatar T-shirt more expensive than the ‘Save Carmine’ shirt…

While you ponder this moral quandary, have a look through the newly released Gears of War 3 screenshots below:

Browse through El33tonline’s previous looks at Gears of War 3 for more screenshots, as well as videos and a whole bunch of extra information.

“Child’s Play is a community-based games industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world. Through their network of more than 60 hospitals and through the generosity of their community of donors, Child’s Play raises millions of dollars each year to donate games, consoles and toys to sick children.”