NCsoft has announced two programs that will attract players to its newest MMO, Aion, in the coming weeks, as the game is getting ready for its big North American and European releases.

Aion is already a big success in South East Asia and, after having recently shut down another MMO, Tabula Rasa, is hoping that the new title will gain a significant following and will even give World of Warcraft a run for its money. The new MMO is set to come out on September 22 in North Americana and on September 25 in Europe.

An Open Beta Test will be organized and run for just one week, between September 6 and 13, running the 1.5 version of the game. The Open Beta will be used to try out some enhancements specifically created for the Western market, like a more complex character creation system, mew game zones, more instanced areas, revamped skills and more game balancing changes. All those that take part in the beta stage, for both the Elyos and the Asmodian races, will be limited to level 30.

For all the players who have or plan to pre-order the game, NCsoft is also planning a Headstart program, which will allow them to experience the full MMO earlier than those players who are getting the game at retail.

Headstart will permit gamers to play the game for two full days before the official release, which means that players can build up an advantage over their later arriving competitors. The title can be pre-ordered at Aiononline.com, Amazon, Best Buy, EB Games Canada, Fry’s Electronics, GameStop, Steam and Target.

Aion's big thing is the way it implements complex flight mechanics that can be used for exploration but also in combat and to complete some of the quests. It remains to be seen whether Aion can satisfy both Western and Eastern sensibilities.