Namco Bandai released a free version of its multiplayer tank battle game Tank! Tank! Tank! on the North American version of the Wii U eShop today, offering the base game at no cost and delivering various modes and maps piecemeal as downloadable content.

Tank! Tank! Tank!'s free version, a 1.5 GB download, offers a handful of basic modes for the multiplayer tank shoot 'em up. Players can purchase the rest of the game's maps and gameplay modes, including the game's My Kong mode and Story mode, as part of 10 pieces of downloadable content. The list of available add-ons from the eShop follows:

Versus / Industrial Complex - $1.99

Versus / Ruins - $1.99

Versus / Coastal Area - $1.99

Versus / Canyon - $1.99

Versus / Volcanic Area - $1.99

Versus / Lunar Base - $1.99

My Kong - $1.99

Monster Battle / Ruins - $3.99

Monster Battle / Industrial Complex - $3.99

Story Mission - $9.99

The eShop notes that My Kong mode is currently on sale for 80 percent off its regular price. That promotion ends May 15.

Namco Bandai pursued a similar tactic in Japan last December, releasing the game as a free-to-play title through Nintendo's Shop.

Tank! Tank! Tank!, a port of a 2009 arcade game, was part of the Wii U's North American launch lineup. Polygon's review of the game called it "a waste of time."