As expected, Sierra announced Tuesday that its highly anticipated first-person shooter, Half-Life, has gone gold and has been sent to manufacturing.

　　With over two years of development under its belt, the game's developer, Valve Software, can now rest easy as the game will release into gamers' hands by Thanksgiving. Word on the Web says that the title will be available on Nov. 22. Last night, Valve's Gabe Newell released a short statement:

　　Half-Life has gone gold and is in manufacturing. I'd like to say how extraordinarily grateful all of us here at Valve are for the support and enthusiasm you have shown Half-Life over the last two years. We are very proud of the product and hope it lives up to your expectations.

　　After the OEM version of Half-Life: Day One was released to editors and a few gamers, people started seeing what GameSpot editors have been viewing all along - an immersive world meticulously built with the smallest detail in mind. While Half-Life was built atop the Quake II engine, it appears to have very few similarities. Considering that 70 percent of the Quake II code has been changed to accommodate skeletal models, 3D audio, and better graphics and lighting effects, Half-Life is definitely not a Quake II knockoff.

　　Newell told GameSpot News that the Valve team is taking off for a few days to sunny Mexico to unwind. And on a more personal note, Newell said, "I've got a stack of games I've been meaning to play for a while that I haven't been able to get to." Now's the time, Gabe...now's the time.