Mass Effect 2 the big winner at 2011 Canadian Videogame Awards in Vancouver

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      Hockey fans and video game players shared the same downtown space on Wednesday night (May 18).

      While Canucks supporters cheered the home team to a win at the CBC Plaza on Hamilton Street, some of the most talented from Canada's video game industry were gathering on the other side of the Vancouver Public Library's downtown branch.

      The second annual Canadian Videogame Awards (CVAs) were handed out at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts, and while the crowd was small—about 500 attended—they were just as enthusiastic as the hockey fans.

      Games developed in Canada were eligible to be recognized in 12 categories.

      BioWare's Mass Effect 2 was the biggest winner of the night, taking home four trophies for best console game, best game design, best game writing, and game of the year, which was decided by votes from the public.

      Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was the only other multiple award winner.

      Produced in part by the team who make the television programs Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run, the CVAs were taped for broadcast on G4 on May 29. It meant that the show was slick and entertaining. It also meant that there were multiple 30-second breaks into which commercials will be inserted for the televised program. It's standard operating procedure for live-to-tape television, but it got a bit tedious by the end.

      The awards were hosted by Victor Lucas, and the statues were handed out by a range of people, including Canadian video game developers, television personalities from Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run, Lucas's former cohost Tommy Tallarico, founder of Video Games Live, and to present the game of the year, actor Michael Hogan, from Battlestar Galactica and Mass Effect 2.

      Tallarico's symphonic presentation of music from games was, as last year, integrated into the event. The group of Vancouver musicians and singers he assembled for the event performed three times during the program, playing music from games such as Street Fighter II, Assassin's Creed II, Tetris, Mass Effect, Uncharted 2, Frogger, and Halo: Reach.

      One highlight from the Video Games Live segments was singer and flutist Laura Intravia, who came to fame because of a video on YouTube, reprising her "Flute Link" performance with panache.

      She returned to the stage with Tallarico to close the show with "Still Alive", the Jonathan Coulton penned song from Valve's 2007 game, Portal.

      As with last year's awards, the quick and snappy show came in at just over two hours.

      For a celebration of Canadian talent, the CVAs were suitably modest and professional. Just what it needed to be.

      The full list of winners is below:

      Game of the Year
      Mass Effect 2 (developed by BioWare, published by Electronic Arts)

      Best Console Game
      Mass Effect 2 (developed by BioWare, published by Electronic Arts)

      Best Game on the Go
      Osmos for iPad (developed and published by Hemisphere Games)

      Best Downloadable Game
      DeathSpank (developed by Hothead Games, published by Electronic Arts)

      Best Audio
      Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (developed by Ubisoft Montreal, published by Ubisoft)

      Best Social/Casual Game
      Pocket God for Facebook (developed and published by Frima Studio)

      Best Game Design
      Mass Effect 2 (developed by BioWare, published by Electronic Arts)

      Best Technology
      Kinect (BigPark, Microsoft Game Studios)

      Best Visual Arts
      Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (developed by Ubisoft Montreal, published by Ubisoft)

      Best Writing
      Mass Effect 2 (developed by BioWare, published by Electronic Arts)

      Best Student Game
      Womp! (developed by XnEh?, published by Centre for Digital Media)

      Innovation Award
      ModNation Racers (developed by United Front Games, published by Sony)

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