Fans to decide Gears of War 3 character fate

Epic Games' critically acclaimed Gears of War franchise isn't exactly known for letting players choose the direction of the story, but when it comes to the ill-fated Carmine family, that's all about to change. Microsoft and Epic Games have opened up the fate of the latest Carmine family COG recruit, Clayton Carmine, to a sadistic democratic vote that will decide if the young character lives or dies.

Two Xbox 360 Avatar T-shirts (one with "Save Carmine" and the other with "Carmine Must Die") will go on sale from July 29, with the most popular shirt deciding the fate of the private. At this stage, no price has been set for the virtual apparel, but Microsoft has confirmed that all profits made from the shirts will go directly to the video game-themed charity Child's Play.

Voting isn't limited to the virtual world, though. Those who attend Comic-Con 2010 in San Diego will be able to buy real limited-edition shirts with the same slogans. Gears of War 3 will also be on display at the convention, with the developer showing off Beast mode, which sees players step into the shoes of different Locust enemies as they take on COG soldiers, sort of a reversal of the previous game's Horde mode.

Members from the design team at Epic Games, including design director Cliff Bleszinski, executive producer Rod Fergusson, and lead writer Karen Traviss, will also be making an appearance at the Xbox 360 booth on Saturday, July 24, from 12 p.m. PDT, signing exclusive Comic-Con posters.

To stay on top of all the news coming out of Comic-Con 2010, be sure to keep an eye on GameSpot's ongoing coverage of the show.