"The Belgian Problem" is the ninth mission in Saints Row: The Third.
- Pierce: "The bomb's set and the clock's ticking..."
Shaundi: "Why didn't we wait to do that until after we kill Loren?"
Pierce: "That's... a really good question. We should move."
Overview
With the information they got from the computer at Powder,[3] The Protagonist, along with Shaundi, Pierce, and a few members of the 3rd Street Saints, travel to Syndicate Tower in order to avenge Johnny Gat's death by finally killing Phillipe Loren.
After facing waves of enemies in the loading dock's lobby at the base of the building, they arm the bomb they stole from the Guard Armory[4] with a sixteen-minute timer in order to destroy the tower. Pierce, Shaundi, and The Protagonist then fight their way up the tower, defeating an Incinerator-wielding Brute, and meet a naked and captive Oleg Kirrlov. He explains that The Syndicate have been cloning him but have failed to replicate his intelligence, resulting in the Brutes that the Saints have been encountering. Oleg does little to elaborate on his past but requests his freedom. The gang oblige and free him and, united by a common goal, they continue upwards towards Loren.
At the top, the gang finds that they are too late and Loren has taken the only express elevator downward to the loading dock's lobby. The Protagonist leaps onto the counterweight and has the group knock it loose, sending it plummeting downwards into the lobby. Outside of the express elevator, Loren stops to take a drag from his cigarette and savor his escape; as he looks up, the counterweight slams down and instantly crushes Loren, killing him. The Protagonist then has the choice to either disable the bomb (as suggested by Oleg, who believes that Loren's research data should not be lost) or leave it and escape the tower (as advocated by Shaundi, who believes the destruction would send a message). Regardless of the choice The Protagonist makes and whether Syndicate Tower is destroyed or not, the Saints ultimately decide to head back to Stilwater to give Gat his due funeral.
Gameplay
- Go to Saints HQ
- Go to Syn Tower
Get in a parked Saints Infuego or any other vehicle and drive to the Syndicate Tower.
- Kill dock guards
After reaching the loading dock lobby of Syndicate Tower, kill the waves of Morningstar inside. They should not present a significant challenge, but they include a Sniper Specialist.
- Kill Brute
Kill the unarmed Brute.
- Arm bomb
After starting the bomb's timer, there is sixteen minutes to complete the rest of the mission; this is more than sufficient without needing to rush.
- Go to factory
Head up the elevator with Pierce and Shaundi.
- Go upstairs
When the elevator is cut off, continue onwards and kill any more Morningstar that put up resistance. As always, be aware of the Sniper Specialists as they cause a fair amount of damage.
- Kill Brute
After going up some stairs, an Incinerator-wielding Brute appears - these enemies hit hard and, despite their size, move fast. If given the opportunity, one can pummel the exposed tanks on their back with enough ammunition to detonate it, instantly killing the Brute. Ideally, the Brute concentrates on attacking Pierce and Shaundi over The Protagonist.
- Go upstairs
Once he's dead, a few more Morningstar provide the last defense between The Protagonist and Oleg.
- Follow Oleg
Now with Oleg as a new Homie, follow him up the undefended stairs towards Phillipe Loren, who promptly flees in an express elevator. Gun down as many Morningstar as possible with the K-8 Krukov until the counterweight gives way and falls down until another unarmed Brute shows up. Simply pepper the Brute with as much ammunition as possible and he'll fall off well before his health empties.
- Disarm bomb or destroy building
After the counterweight crashes down on Loren, the choice is presented to either disarm the bomb or leave the tower.
Choice
- See also: Choices
Choice | Reward |
---|---|
Blow Up The Building | Permanent Respect Bonus: 10% bonus to all Respect earned for destroying the Morningstar HQ Template:Br "Kuh, Boom." (Achievement/Trophy) |
Disarm The Bomb | Permanent Cash Bonus: 10% bonus to all cash earned for taking over the Morningstar HQ Template:Br "Tower Defense" (Achievement/Trophy) |
If the building is destroyed, The Protagonist and the other Saints drive away in the truck taken from the lobby. The Protagonist talks about going back to Stilwater for Johnny Gat's funeral, beginning the events of "Return to Steelport". During gameplay, the Syndicate Tower is forever removed from Steelport's skyline. |
If the bomb is disarmed, the gang discuss how to decorate and color the building. After The Protagonist insists they get rid of the pink, Oleg sarcastically remarks on whether they'd prefer "a more manly shade, like purple", playfully criticizing the Saints' signature color. Afterwards, there are Saints decorations around the base of the tower. During the day, the Syndicate Tower remains red, while at night the lights are Saints purple, with purple spotlights pointing to the sky. |
Rewards
- Cash: $6,000
- Respect: 2000
- Achievement: Kuh, Boom. (20 / )[1] Template:Br Tower Defense (20 / )[2]
- Mission: Return to Steelport
- Homie: Oleg Kirrlov
- Weapon: RC Possessor
- Respect: Permanent 10% Respect bonus[1]
- City Income: Permanent 10% cash bonus[2]
- Diversions: 5 Challenges
Newscasts
- Main article: Newscasts
- Destroy the building
- Disarm the bomb
Trivia
- This mission is the first mission in Saints Row: The Third to have a choice of two outcomes. Similar choices are given in "The Ho Boat", "STAG Party", "http://deckers.die", "Murderbrawl XXXI", "Zombie Attack", and "Three Way".
- When chasing Phillipe Loren with the giant counterweight, the music playing is "Dogstar" by Hybrid.
- After diving onto the counterweight, The Protagonist pulls out a 45 Shepherd in the cutscene, but has a K-8 Krukov during gameplay.
- If Male Voice 3 is selected for The Protagonist, then when the ornament is dislodged The Protagonist yells, "Familiar with Agincourt, you prick?". Then, after Loren is killed, The Protagonist remarks, "I'm sure there's a St. Crispin's Day joke in here somewhere...". Both are references to the Hundred Years' War between England and France, specifically the Battle of Agincourt (which took place on St. Crispin's Day), where the English routed a numerically superior French army; Male Voice 3 is English, while Phillipe Loren is often thought to be French (despite him being Belgian).
- If the bomb is disarmed, the newscast that follows mentions, "though an elevator was crushed during the fall, rescue workers were unable to pry apart the metal to determine if anyone was inside"; Loren was not crushed inside an elevator - he was crushed outside the elevator in the lobby of the loading dock.
- This mission was first revealed in the pre-release Destructoid livestream.[5]
- In a pre-release interview, Volition producer Greg Donovan explicitly stated that the Syndicate Tower would be unlocked as a Crib if kept.[6]
- In the starting cutscene, Shaundi is armed with a fully upgraded K-8 Krukov, but during the mission, she only carries the standard TEK Z-10.
Transcript
Prologue
- Pierce: "Won't be easy. That whole tower's gotta be crawling with Morningstar."The Protagonist: "Pierce, we've waited long enough. Now we go forPierce: "True. So what's the plan?"The Protagonist: "Since when have we done things the easy way?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Roars"Pierce: "Makes sense."The Protagonist: "Kill everyone we see and find Loren?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Snarls"The Protagonist: "Meet me atThe Protagonist calls ShaundiShaundi: "Just tell me where to be."The Protagonist: "Shaundi, it's time."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Snarls"Shaundi: "I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch..."The Protagonist: "We're meeting at the penthouse."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Gargles"Shaundi: "You bet your ass he won't."The Protagonist: "Don't worry, he won't get away this time."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Grunts"
- — Pre-mission Phone Call
Cutscene #1
- Pierce: "Little big for you."
Shaundi: "Give me the god damn gun, Pierce."
Pierce: "Okay..."
The Protagonist: "Let's give that motherfucker what's comin' to him."
- — Opening cutscene
Gameplay
- Shaundi: "Don't worry about me, I need this. Loren has to pay for what he did, and I wanna be there when he gets what he deserves."The Protagonist - Female 1: "Shaundi, you gonna be ok coming along?"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "If you are going to have second thoughts, Shaundi, you need to be having them now."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Shaundi, if you're coming in with us-"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Are you sure you wanna do this, Shaundi."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "You know Pierce and I can handle this, Shaundi."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "You sure about this, Shaundi?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Groans"
Pierce: "No worries, girl; we're not stopping with Loren...we're takin' out his whole fucking Syndicate."
Shaundi: "I think we'll need to do a little more than kill one guy to do that."bomb we stole? Well, there you go."The Protagonist - Female 1: "You know that
The Protagonist - Female 2: "It's all in the plan, Shaundi"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "We didn't steal that bomb for nothing."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "We didn't steal that bomb for nothing."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Way ahead of you, girl. We're using the bomb."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Why do you think we nicked a bomb?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Groans"- — "Mission Start"
- Pierce: "How hard you think finding Phillipe will be?"Pierce: "You think he's gonna be that cliche?"The Protagonist - Female 1: "He'll be on the top floor. I think it's in the criminal mastermind rulebook or something."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "He is a rich, sadistic, egomaniacal crime lord... Top floor."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Shouldn't be that hard, he's probably on the top floor."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Come on, he's a criminal mastermind...he's gotta be on the top floor, it's like a rule."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Everyone knows: the head bad guy is on the top floor. I thought you watched movies, Pierce."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Mastermind of a shadowy criminal organization? Gotta be the top floor."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Snarls"
Shaundi: "Doesn't matter...we're killing everyone in there..."
- — "Driving 1"
- Pierce: "It's all taken care of. Soon as we make sure the loading dock is clear, they'll drive it in."The Protagonist - Female 1: "The crew's holding back, right? I don't want the giant bomb near a firefight."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Is the bomb ready to be delivered?"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "The guys know where they're going, right?"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "You sure the crew has the right address for our delivery?"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Crew's right behind us with the package, right?"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "The crew got the address... right?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Gargles"
- — "Driving 2"
- Pierce: "How many times you gonna check that gun?"
Shaundi: "How long is it going to take us to get there?"
Pierce: "I was just asking..."The Protagonist - Female 1: "I'll put you both in a timeout..."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Save it for Loren, comrades."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Knock it off you two, we're almost there..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Save it for Loren's goons."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Keep it up and you're both walkin' there."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Save it for Loren and his goons."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Garbled"- — "Driving 3"
- Pierce: "They ain't fucking around here."
Shaundi: "Shit, they have snipers in here."
Pierce: "That big guy really doesn't want us to get inside."
- — "Loading Dock"
- Pierce: "You think all packages are this hard to drop off here?"
Shaundi: "Ha ha. Can you just shoot them?"
- — "Loading Dock 3"
- Here's our delivery now.
- — Pierce, "Bomb"
- Pierce: "The bomb's set and the clock's ticking..."
Shaundi: "Why didn't we wait to do that until after we kill Loren?"
Pierce: "That's... a really good question, we should move."
- — "Bomb Set 1"
- Shaundi: "What'd you do?"
Pierce: "It wasn't me. It just stopped."
Phillipe: "Did you really expect to waltz right up to my office when I control the building?"The Protagonist - Female 1: "God I hate him..."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Uh... yes..."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Well that's great..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Shit..."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "I hate that asshole."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Bollocks."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Gargles"- — "Elevator Stop"
- Shaundi: "What the fuck is this room?"
Shaundi: "Are those people in there?"
Pierce: "Looks like all those big guys we keep seeing. Clones?"Shaundi: "What?"The Protagonist - Female 1: "We probably should have seen that coming!"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Clones, of course. That is how I would do it."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "We shoulda saw that coming!"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Makes sense to me."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Think you might be right."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "That would make sense."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Mumbles"The Protagonist - Female 1: "Yeah, you're right. It's fucking crazy."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "If... I... were an evil crime lord that is..."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Come on, like you never noticed they looked the same!"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "OK, maybe "makes sense" was too strong..."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Unless you have a better explaination, I'm just sayin' it makes sense."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Not 'make sense' in a... ah fuck it, nevermind."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Sneers"- — "Clone Room 2"
- Pierce: "What should we call these guys?"
Shaundi: "Who cares? They're blowing up with the rest of this place."
Pierce: "How about Bricks? They hit like their made of the stuff."
Shaundi: "Bricks? Really?"
Pierce: "Alright, what would you call 'em?"
Shaundi: "John."
Pierce: "You ain't gettin' how this works, are you..."
- — "Clone Room 3"
- I knew this wouldn't be easy, but Jesus...
- — Pierce, "Clone Room"
Cutscene #2
- The Protagonist: "What the hell is all this?"
Oleg: "Phillipe likes his things custom-made--and for his brutes, I am the master pattern, you see."
Pierce: "Why you still strung up if they already cloned your ass?"
Oleg: "The copies are flawed. They have my brawn but not my brain. I can help you."
Pierce: "The last time a big naked dude said he could help me, it did not end well."
Shaundi: "What could he do anyway? Those wires and shit are probably keeping him alive."
Oleg: "Trust me--I'm still strong enough to kill Phillipe."
Pierce: "You want some clothes, man?"
Oleg: "No time."
Pierce: "Man, like I said, the last time a big naked dude ..."
- — Mid-mission cutscene
Gameplay
- This elevator will take us to the offices.
- — Oleg, "M06"
- Oleg: "Follow me to Phillipe's office."
Pierce: "Seriously man, if you want I can find you, like... a curtain or something."
Oleg: "The human body is nothing to be ashamed of, unless you have... insecurities."
Pierce: "I'm good..."Oleg: "My name is Oleg Kirrlov..."The Protagonist - Female 1: "Got a name, honey?"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "What are you called, comrade?"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Not that I'm ungrateful for the help, but I sometimes like to know a guy's name before I see him naked."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Hey man, you got a name?"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "What do we call you?"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "And you would be...?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Growls"
Shaundi: "So... what did you do before you were a glorified pin cushion?"
Oleg: "I think it best for our friendship I never elaborate. Just know that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. As long as you oppose the Syndicate you have nothing to fear from me."The Protagonist - Female 1: "Then we'll be all good. Glad to have you in the Saints."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "I can accept that. Welcome to the Saints, Oleg."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "No worries Oleg, as long as he doesn't want me dead I can respect a man's privacy..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Works for me. Welcome to the Saints."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "You'll fit right in with the Saints, Oleg."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Works for me. Welcome aboard!"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Gargles"- — "Oleg"
Cutscene #3
- Oleg: "Loren's office is this way!"
The Protagonist: "Damn it!"
Oleg: "That's an express elevator to the basement...there's no way to catch him."
The Protagonist: "Fuck. That."
- — Cutscene 3
Gameplay
- Oleg: "Leave it to me..."this thing loose!"The Protagonist - Female 1: "Get
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Break this thing loose! I have to reach the bottom before him!"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Break the cables...now!"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Knock this thing loose! I'm gonna crush that sonofabitch..."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Break those cables, I'm crushin' that piece of shit!"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Cut this loose! We're going to smash that smug fucker!"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Moans"
Pierce: "I've got this one!"The Protagonist - Female 1: "Time's wasting! This is our only shot!"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Faster! He will be getting away!"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Do not let him get away!"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Hurry it up, he's getting away!"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Get it done!"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "He's getting away! Now!"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Moans"- — "Break Cables"
- Done!
- — Oleg, "Finished Breaking"
- The Protagonist - Female 1: "Come on, Frenchie! Let's dance!"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "You will not escape me now!"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Going down..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "I'm comin' for ya, Frenchie!"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "No more runnin', Loren!"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Familiar with Agincourt you prick?"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Mumbles"The Protagonist - Female 1: "Come on!"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "I do not have time for this!"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Oh come on..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "What the fuck, man?!"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Fucking piece of..."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Growls"- — "Ball"
- The Protagonist - Female 1: "Get off!"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "I will not be stopped!"
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Who said you could get on my ball?"
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Get off my damn ball!"
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Find your own ride down!"
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Get your own ball!"
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Sneers"- — "Brute on"
Gameplay
- The Protagonist - Female 1: "Really could have used an '80s action hero joke."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Well, Johnny, it looks like he made himself a crepe instead."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Dammit. I shoulda thought of a Belgian Pancake joke..."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Whoops."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "There's a great St. Crispin's Day joke in here somewhere..."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Babbles"- — "Phillipe"
- Shaundi: "Time to blow this place to hell..."
Oleg: "I hate this place more than anyone but it would be folly to destroy Phillipe's research without seeing what we can harvest from it."
Shaundi: "We came here to send a message, didn't we?"
Oleg: "Why not keep the building for yourself?"
Pierce: "Your choice here, boss."
- — "Choice"
Cutscene - Destroy
- It's time we went back home and buried Johnny.
- — The Protagonist, after the destruction of the Syndicate Tower.
Cutscene - Disarm
- The Protagonist: "We're gonna have to do something about the pink."
Oleg: "You'd prefer a more manly shade, like purple?"
- — Cutscene after disarming the bomb
Unsorted
- Pierce: "That's what Shaundi said..."The Protagonist - Female 1: "Did that thing get bigger?"
The Protagonist - Female 2: "It's beautiful. It is even bigger than I am remembering."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "Biggest package I've ever seen..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Damn, bigger when it's close up."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "The bigger the better."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Bigger than I though it'd be."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Garbled"The Protagonist - Female 1: "I will hurt you... Now let me get this thing set so we can head up."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "Enough, Pierce. Once I have set this timer, we will be going."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "What are you, twelve? Shut up, we need to find Loren."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Don't even... Let me set this and we can go find Loren."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Really, Pierce? Anyway, let's set this thing and then find Loren."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Don't. Let's set this and track down Loren."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Gargles"- — "Bomb Arrive"
- Shaundi: "So where'd the hell we stop?"
Pierce: "Doubt it's anywhere good."The Protagonist - Female 1: "There has to be another way up."
The Protagonist - Female 2: "It doesn't matter. Phillipe is not here, so we will not stay long."
The Protagonist - Female 3: "No big deal. We'll find another way up..."
The Protagonist - Male 1: "Look for another way up."
The Protagonist - Male 2: "Has to be another way up."
The Protagonist - Male 3: "Find another way up."
The Protagonist - Zombie: "Garbled"- — "Clone Room Enter"
- Shaundi: "Elevator's at the back of the dock."
Pierce: "Don't worry, the boys'll hold things down here."
- — "Get in Elevator"
- Saints are in the loading dock. Don't let them enter the building.
- — Phillipe, "Guards to Loading"
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Choice: Destroy building
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Choice: Disarm bomb
- ↑ Mission: Hit the Powder Room
- ↑ Mission: We're Going to Need Guns
- ↑ Twitch.TV: Destructoid livestream
- ↑ Nowgamer: Developer Interview
- Early on the game you have the opportunity to decide to blow up a building, or leave it. You get a certain reward based on whatever your choice is. So if you keep it, you can use it as a crib and go back there later. It's beneficial as it's in a well-situated area of the city. This is where you can go to access your weapons cache, change your outfit and all of that. If you choose to blow it up, you get a different reward, which is more monetary income per day. So it's like, "Do I want the ease of having a crib in the middle of the city, or do I want to get money quicker so I can buy upgradeable weapons faster?" So we feel these are compelling choices that will make players think about what they choose.
- — Greg Donovan - Volition Producer
- Early on the game you have the opportunity to decide to blow up a building, or leave it. You get a certain reward based on whatever your choice is. So if you keep it, you can use it as a crib and go back there later. It's beneficial as it's in a well-situated area of the city. This is where you can go to access your weapons cache, change your outfit and all of that. If you choose to blow it up, you get a different reward, which is more monetary income per day. So it's like, "Do I want the ease of having a crib in the middle of the city, or do I want to get money quicker so I can buy upgradeable weapons faster?" So we feel these are compelling choices that will make players think about what they choose.
Template:Missions in Saints Row: The Third