Many of the year’s best games were developed right here in Canada.
The Canadian Video Game Awards are starting to resemble their non-Canadian equivalents. The second annual show took place last night in Vancouver and – as was the case with many other outlets – Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood were the year’s big winners. Bioware’s space RPG took home four awards including one for game of the year, while Ubisoft’s latest free-roaming assassination title walked away with two.
“Congratulations to all of the winners tonight and to all of the incredible games nominated,” said Electric Playground host and CVA co-founder Victor Lucas. “The work on display at the ceremony tonight was world-class and illustrated once again that Canadian game developers are second to none when it comes to creating interactive entertainment!”
A 60-minute Canadian Video Game Awards special will air on G4 Canada on May 29
. Other winners include Kinect (Best Tech), United Front’s ModNation Racers (Innovation Award) and Hothead’s DeathSpank (Best Downloadable Game), although I personally would have given that last award to Ubisoft’s Scott Pilgrim or Klei’s Shank.
The full list of nominees and winners is below. There are quite a few excellent games here, and it’s yet more evidence of the strength of the industry in Canada.
Game of the Year – Mass Effect 2 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Dead Rising 2
- FIFA 11
- Mass Effect 2
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Best Console Game – Mass Effect 2 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Dead Rising 2
- FIFA 11
- Mass Effect 2
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Best Game on the Go – Osmos for iPad (Hemisphere Games)
- Lil’ Pirates
- Osmos for iPad
- Scrabble for iPad
- A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks
- Trainyard
Best Downloadable Game – Deathspank (Hothead Games/Electronic Arts)
- Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
- Deathspank
- HOARD
- Shank
- A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks
Best Audio – Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising
- Mass Effect 2
- Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Best Social/Casual Game – Pocket God on Facebook (Frima Studio/Bolt Creative)
- Dex Hamilton: Bug Quest
- GardenMind
- Mercenaries of War
- Pocket God on Facebook
- Pot Farm
Best Game Design – Mass Effect 2 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Deathspank
- Mass Effect 2
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
- Trainyard
Best Technology – Kinect for XBOX 360 (Big Park Game Studio/Microsoft)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Kinect for XBOX 360
- Mass Effect 2
- Scrabble for iPad
- Your Shape Fitness Evolved
Best Visual Arts – Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Mass Effect 2
- Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
- Tron: Evolution
Best Writing – Mass Effect 2 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
- Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising
- Mass Effect 2
- Prince of Persia – The Forgotten Sands
- Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction
Best Student Game – WOMP! (XnEh?/Centre for Digital Media)
- Codex
- Ginkgo
- Hootlin
- WOMP!
Innovation Award – ModNation Racers (United Front Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Kinect Joy Ride
- ModNation Racers
- Scrabble for iPad
- Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions
- Your Shape Fitness Evolved
Source: Yahoo! Finance