Gears of War 3 Plot Point at Hands of Avatar Marketplace Tat

Never a franchise opposed to violence, each entry in the Gears of War series so far has featured the death of one of the Carmine brothers as a means of re-iterating WOT NOT TO DO without breaking narrative flow. In both Gears of War 1 and 2, Marcus and company watch in relative disinterest as the rookie is killed teaching gamers a valuable lesson about snipers or giant subterranean worms. For the upcoming Gears of War 3, Epic have announced that the fate of Clayton, a third Carmine brother, rests in the hands of those partial to useless micro-transactions as they release a pair of Avatar T-Shirts onto the Xbox Live Marketplace that boast the phrases “Carmine Must Die” or “Save Carmine”. Whichever sells the most will determine the outcome of the third member of the Carmine triumvirate.

While its admirable that proceeds from the sales go to everyone’s beloved Child’s Play charity, it seems sad that plot details of such a massively popular franchise, no matter how incidental, would be farmed out to PR stunts. The unfortunate decision to house said PR stunt within a marketplace already chock-full of horrendously overpriced virtual trinkets just leaves a bitter taste in the mouth regardless of the over-arcing good deed.

For those genuinely excited by the prospect of being able to play a part in the potential demise of the third brother in the unluckiest family alive, T-Shirts go on sale from the 29th of July.