The Belgian Problem

"The Belgian Problem" is the ninth mission in Saints Row: The Third.
==Overview==
With the information they got from the computer at Powder, Playa, 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 with a sixteen-minute timer in order to destroy the tower. Pierce, Shaundi, and Playa 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. Playa 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. Playa 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 Playa 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==
;
;
Get in a parked Saints Infuego or any other vehicle and drive to the Syndicate Tower.
;
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 the unarmed Brute.
;
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.
;
Head up the elevator with Pierce and Shaundi.
;
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.
;
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 Playa.
;
Once he's dead, a few more Morningstar provide the last defense between Playa and 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.
;
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
 	Permanent Respect Bonus: 10% bonus to all Respect earned for destroying the Morningstar HQ "Kuh, Boom." (Achievement/Trophy)
 	Permanent Cash Bonus: 10% bonus to all cash earned for taking over the Morningstar HQ "Tower Defense" (Achievement/Trophy)
;Destroy building
If the building is destroyed, Playa and the other Saints drive away in the truck taken from the lobby. Playa 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.
;Disarm bomb
If the bomb is disarmed, the gang discuss how to decorate and color the building. After Playa 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==
==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", "", "Murderbrawl XXXI", "Zombie Attack", and "Three Way".
* When chasing Phillipe Loren with the giant counterweight, the music playing is "" by .
* After diving onto the counterweight, Playa pulls out a 45 Shepherd in the cutscene, but has a K-8 Krukov during gameplay.
* If Male Voice 3 is selected for Playa, then when the ornament is dislodged Playa yells, "Familiar with Agincourt, you prick?". Then, after Loren is killed, Playa remarks, "I'm sure there's a St. Crispin's Day joke in here somewhere...". Both are references to the between England and France, specifically the (which took place on ), 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.
*In a pre-release interview, Volition producer Greg Donovan explicitly stated that the Syndicate Tower would be unlocked as a Crib if kept.
*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.
*In the Japanese version, the scene of Oleg being freed has him wearing his default clothes due to CERO rating regulations regarding nudity in video games. The translated subtitles referring to it were somewhat changed as well.
==Transcript==
===Prologue===
===Cutscene #1===
===Gameplay===
===Cutscene #2===
===Gameplay===
===Cutscene #3===
===Gameplay===
===Gameplay===
===Cutscene - Destroy===
===Cutscene - Disarm===
===Unsorted===
==Gallery==