Far Cry 3 tops Canadian Videogame Awards

Ubisoft's Far Cry 3 was the biggest winner at the fourth annual Canadian Videogame Awards this weekend, taking home six prizes including game of the year.

The first-person shooter about a group of friends stranded on a lawless tropical island following a vacation gone wrong also beat out nine other finalists to win the Future Shop Fans' Choice Award, the only prize awarded by public voting rather than industry representatives.

Awards in 16 categories were handed out Saturday at a ceremony in Vancouver held in conjunction with the Fan Expo Vancouver convention.

Mass Effect 3, the final instalment in Bioware/Electronic Arts's popular action role-playing game science fiction trilogy, was the runner up with three awards, including best console game.

Games developed in Canada and released in 2012 were eligible for nomination by the general public. Five finalists were selected by a Canadian Videogame Awards committee for each category except the Fans' Choice Award.

The complete list of winners:

• Game of the year: Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
• Best console game: Mass Effect 3 (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
• Best downloadable game: Mark of the Ninja (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
• Best game on the go: Sound Shapes (Qeasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Best social/Casual game: The Secret World (Funcom Games/Electronic Arts)
• Best animation: Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
• Best audio:Assassin's Creed III  (Ubisoft Montreal)
• Best game design:Far Cry 3  (Ubisoft)
• Best game innovation:Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Best Indie game:Mark of the Ninja  (Klei Entertainment/Microsoft)
• Best new character:Far Cry 3  (Ubisoft)  - Vaas
• Best original music:Mass Effect 3  (Bioware/Electronic Arts)  - Leaving Earth
• Best technology:Assassin's Creed III  (Ubisoft Montreal) 
• Best visual arts: Far Cry 3  (Ubisoft)
• Best writing:Mass Effect 3  (Bioware/Electronic Arts)
• Future Shop Fans' Choice award:Far Cry 3  (Ubisoft)