Unsung Heroes of Gaming #2: The Carmines

In honour of the release of Gears of War 3 on Tuesday, this week our unsung heroes are the brothers of the Carmine family. The Carmine brothers are synonymous with Delta squad as any other member, as to date three of the four brothers will have served and, in the case of Anthony and Benjamin, died during the events so far in the Gears of War series. The brothers have, for the first two games at least, been relatively inexperienced rookies in the COG army, but always made up with enthusiasm, and a reverence for vets such as Marcus and Dom. Both Anthony and Benjamin were decidedly €˜green€™ as COG recruits, and to a degree caught up in the glory of the wars, seeing death in service as being a heroic action, and being in awe of the Delta members. Benjamin, the second Carmine to serve with the squad, viewed it as an honour to serve with the same squad in which his brother, Anthony, served. Gears 3 will see the introduction of the 3rd Carmine, in the form of Clayton. Looking significantly more experienced than his younger brothers, he does however, like them, keeps his helmet on as part of his armour but sports a sleeveless look. As a rather touching element, he has a tattoo featuring both his brothers. While Anthony and Benjamin looked reasonably similar, Clay stands out. He has more battle experience, a seemingly greater bloodlust, and more of a bulky muscular look like the other members of Delta squad. Whether these more obvious differences will endear him to the Carmine fans will remain to be seen. The death of the Carmine brothers, while tragic, has become almost expected in the Gears universe. So much so that back in July of 2010, it was announced by Epic that it would be up to the fans to decide whether the 3rd Carmine brother would live or die in Gears 3. On Xbox LIVE for avatars, and for attendees of Comic-Con who were able to buy a real life version, two t-shirts were able to be bought, either reading €˜Save Carmine€™ or €˜Carmine Must Die€™, the proceeds of which went to charity. There aren€™t many characters that could see such a campaign take place, and with such success. There is a lot of love for these sometimes over looked brothers, the fate of Clay however we will have to wait and see with the release on Tuesday. The Carmines are never the protagonists, but they are members of Delta, and they have love within the franchise, with all three brothers available to play in multiplayer of Gears 3. In a way the Carmines are so much a part of the Gears universe now, that having a game without them would just seem wrong, and while they don€™t essentially steal the limelight, they are a series of characters, that I at least, think deserve to be named as unsung heroes. Want to suggest an unsung hero? It€™s as easy as leaving a comment.