[HTML2]

First, it was discovered thanks to ratings classifications boards overseas, then it was unveiled officially on April Fools' Day before actual screenshots surfaced a few days later. We're talking of course, about the exciting and mysterious-up-until-now Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. The official teaser that played on the intentionally cheap and retro looking Blood Dragon website on April 1st included a brief and blurry shot of what the downloadable title's gameplay would actually entail and thanks to leaked footage, we know what the game is really all about.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a retro-futuristic action game that seemingly runs on the same engine as Far Cry 3. It's a sci-fi first-person shooter starring a cybernetic protagonist voiced by none other than '80s action start Michael Biehn.

 The year is 2007. It is the future. Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war and new paths for peace must be found. A U.S. cyborg army may have found a solution: a powerful bioweapon on a distant island. A Mark IV Cyber Commando, Sergeant Rex Power Colt has been sent over to gather information and figure out what the hell is going on.

Screenshots from the game - again, not sent to us by Ubisoft themselves - revealed imagery of lasers, and neon-colored mayhem. And it looked cool!

What does it all have to do with Far Cry 3? The story of the game is about fictional writer-director Alexis Graveyard (read about him here) who's taking his film cast and crew to Rook Islands - where the story of  Far Cry 3 takes place - to shoot a sci-fi action movie. They're using the aftermath of Jason Brody's killing spree as the setting for the movie, which for players, is the game.

The video up top (watch it while it lasts!) reveals the very first gameplay, the actual first 15 minutes of the game from startup. Even though Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is still unannounced, Russian hackers have uncovered the game on PC thanks to uPlay and made it available on torrent sites for download, with no purchase and no DRM. This is where the footage up top came from.

Bad news for Ubisoft on two fronts, not only because their marketing campaign is being controlled by hackers, but that uPlay is providing another black mark on their PC services.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon will be available on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 from May 1, 2013.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.