At last year's Canadian Videogame Awards, FIFA Soccer 2012 took home game of the year, while Deux Ex: Human Revolution won Best Console Game and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP won Best Downloadable and Best Game on The Go.
With an impressive and growing list of beloved Triple-A and indie games finding their origins in the Great White North, it's no surprise that for the 2013 Canadian Videogame Awards boasts an even more extraordinary mix of Finalists.
There are 25 games spread among 16 categories in this year's show, which takes place during Fan Expo Vancouver on Saturday, April 20, 2013. 15 of the categories will have winners voted upon by members of the Canadian video game industry, with the Future Shop Fans' Choice Award voted on by players on the official CVA site, www.canadianvideogameawards.com. Below are this year's Finalists selected from the large pool of nominees:
Game of the Year
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Console Game
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- FIFA Soccer 13 (EA Sports)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.)
Best Downloadable Game
- Incredipede (Northway Games)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- MechWarrior Online (Piranha Games/Infinite Games Publishing)
- Shank 2 (Klei Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Waveform (Eden Industries)
Best Game on the Go
- Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (Beamdog)
- My Singing Monsters (Big Blue Bubble)
- Shellrazer (Slick Entertainment)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- The Bard's Tale (Square One Games/inXile Entertainment)
Best Social/Casual Game
- i saw her standing there (krangGAMES)
- Jurassic Park Builder (Ludia)
- Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth (Ubisoft Quebec)
- Rubber Tacos (Sava Transmedia/Zynga)
- The Secret World (Funcom Games/Electronic Arts)
Best Animation
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment/Activision)
- Shank 2 (Klei Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.)
Best Audio
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Incredipede (Northway Games)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- My Singing Monsters (Big Blue Bubble)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Game Design
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
Best Game Innovation
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Waveform (Eden Industries)
Best Indie Game
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Shank 2 (Klei Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Waveform (Eden Industries)
Best New Character
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft) - Vaas
- Nun Attack (Frima Studio) - The Nun Squad!
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment) - Quico
- Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment/Activision) - James Heller
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.) - Wei Shen
Best Original Music
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal) - Main Theme Song
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts) - Leaving Earth
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment) - Liberation
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.) - Sleeping Dogs Score
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment) - Cities
Best Technology
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- MechWarrior Online (Piranha Games/Infinite Games Publishing)
- Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment/Activision)
- SSX (EA Sports)
Best Visual Arts
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Incredipede (Northway Games)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
Best Writing
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.)
Future Shop Fans' Choice Award
- Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal)
- Batman Arkham City Armored Edition (WB Games Montreal)
- Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
- Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
- Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
- Papo & Yo (Minority Media/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment/Activision)
- Sleeping Dogs (United Front Games/Square Enix Ltd.)
- Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Waveform (Eden Industries)
Mark of the Ninja leads the pack with 11 nominations.
The 2013 CVAs will be hosted by Montreal-born industry voice talent Elias Toufexis. Toufexis played Adam Jensen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, winning Best New Character at last year's CVAs. He also plays Andriy Kobin in the Splinter Cell series, and has numerous other roles in games including various Assassin's Creed titles, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Shaun White Skateboarding and I Am Alive.
Sponsored by Future Shop, The CVAs will be broadcast across the country on Citytv and G4 Canada through the Rogers Network. Members of the public can get in the game and cast their vote for the Future Shop Fans' Choice Award at www.canadianvideogameawards..
Follow me on Twitter @rob_keyes and share your thoughts on who should win!