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As some no doubt saw in our weekly Nintendo Download update for Europe, Namco Bandai's Tank! Tank! Tank! is bringing the retail title onto the Wii U eShop with a free-to-play model. The good news is that Europeans don't need to wait for the rest of the updates on Valentines Day — this one's available right now.

To start with, you'll need to actually find it. The eShop front page hasn't at the time of writing been updated, so you'll need to search for it — "Tank" did the trick for us — and then, as expected, you can complete a free download that's a little under 1500MB / 1.5GB. It's a fairly meaty download, and as these words are published we're still waiting for it to complete here at Nintendo Life HQ.

That Basic Pack download will include three different modes (Monster Battle mode; Free-For-All mode and Team Versus mode, all in the Urban Area stage) which you can play up to three times a day. It transpires that the DLC with 80% off is My Kong Mode, a four player multiplayer offering that allow players to play as a boss (with their own face imposed for comical effect) against others in tanks; it's available for £1.59 / €1.99 until 28th February. There are 10 separate DLC offerings to pick and choose from (you need to download the app first, remember) comprising of map packs, two monster battle stages and a Story Mission pack that represents the main single player experience.

VERSUS / Industrial Complex (€1.99 / £1.59)
VERSUS / Ruins (€1.99 / £1.59)
VERSUS / Coastal Area (€1.99 / £1.59)
VERSUS / Canyon (€1.99 / £1.59)
VERSUS / Volcanic Area (€1.99 / £1.59)
VERSUS / Lunar Base (€1.99 / £1.59)
MY KONG (€1.99 / £1.59 until 28th February, €9.99 / £7.99 after that date)
MONSTER BATTLE / Ruins (€3.99 / £3.19)
MONSTER BATTLE / Industrial Complex (€3.99 / £3.19)
STORY MISSION (€9.99 / £7.99)

So there you have it. In terms of what's on offer, Namco Bandai has stated that "purchasing all additional content will allow the user to have a version as complete as the retail version in terms of content." The total current cost for every DLC pack is £27.10 / €31.90, though after 28th February that will rise to £33.50 / €39.90.

We're currently downloading the app to weigh up the extra content download process for an upcoming feature, where we'll look at the recent emergence of this model in the European eShop, with this title joining Zen Pinball 2 in providing a free download with paid DLC.

So, what do you think? Are any of you Europeans planning to try this, and do those of you in North America and beyond fancy a similar deal?