Well, the majority hath spoken: she's history. Hey, if it makes anyone feel better, I did endure for the full three times before hitting Submit -- if only because I wanted to hear Ocelot's dialogue in between tortures. (Other than, "Don't even THINK of using auto-fire, or I'll know!") Those bits of dialogue may actually provide glimpses into his final plans for MGS4. In any case, corny yet endearing Dave and Hal joke, comin' my way!
And, I always found it interesting that you'd only find out that Campbell is Meryl's father ONLY if she dies. I wonder if she ever figures it out in MGS4?
Now comes both my favorite and least favorite part in the game: the Communications Towers. The first staircase ascend up Tower A refreshingly leaves the stealth aspect of the game behind, pitting you against wave after wave of enemies as you make that intense climb up, FA-MAS a-blazin'. (You'll want to have mastered that run 'n gun technique here.) Then, once you've made the climb, it's time to make that glorious rappel down from the roof to Tower B. Playing this particular scene back then was just about one of the greatest and coolest gaming moments I've ever witnessed. Still is.
You know, I've often wondered what would happen if you never grabbed the rope at the very bottom of the tower. I believe I tried it once before, and if you were unfortunate enough to save the game on the roof, I think you were pretty much screwed; you would need to run ALL THE WAY back down, grab the rope, and trek all the way back up in order to progress the story.
From this point, it teeters between lame and rad. Lame, when you have to run up all those empty staircases (with a couple of security camera guns) in Tower B because the elevator stopped. But then it ramps up the rad again when you have your showdown with Liquid and the Hind D. Then, it tones down again by having you descend back down those very same stairs. Then rad yet again when you face off with the stealth-equipped guys in the elevator. Whew.