Playboy X's Penthouse

Playboy X's Penthouse, or the Northwood safehouse, is one of Niko Bellic's possible safehouses in Grand Theft Auto IV. It is located in Northwood at the Xenotime St-Galveston Ave intersection.

The apartment housing Playboy X's penthouse. The main entrance into the penthouse is located on the left side of the building.
For other safehouses located in Algonquin, see Algonquin Safehouse.

Getting the safehouse

The safehouse was originally purchased by Playboy X in 1993 when his mentor Dwayne Forge was arrested of a drug crack-down. Playboy X lived there until 2008 in the events of Grand Theft Auto IV where if the player decides to kill Playboy in The Holland Play, Dwayne will give Niko the penthouse as a gift.

If the player decides to kill Dwayne, the safehouse remains Playboy X's, but the player can still gain access by landing a helicopter on the roof - the patio doors are permanently open, although none of the features inside can be used. The player can also access the penthouse by parking an SUV or other high-roofed vehicle at the bottom of the fire stairs and climbing up them. The player can also own up to 2 cars/vehicles in the parking space, including possibly Playboy's gold Patriot (however this vehicle may not spawn after Playboy's death, especially if you leave a vehicle parked in the parking space).

Around the same time of acquiring this safehouse, Roman buys another one in Algonquin. Together, the Algonquin safehouses are vastly superior to the South Bohan Safehouse and the safehouse that follows in terms of their condition and facilities. It is unknown if Niko shared this safehouse with Roman, as they had shared all their other safehouses (the fact Niko cannot engage in "coffee" with his dates there, even if he brings them there to play pool, suggests they may share it).

Amenities

It has a Panoramic wide screen television, jacuzzi, pool table, punching bag and an outfit based on the clothing style of Claude from Grand Theft Auto III in the penthouse's wardrobe; the penthouse itself has no internet, but you can use the guard's computer downstairs, in the lobby - interestingly, the monitor bears the Tw@ desktop when not in use. Niko can't play pool by himself, but can play against friends and dates. This pool table does incur quite a few unwanted glitches. Animations of characters setting up shots are often in incorrect directions and the balls often fall off the table when hit very hard towards corners. When the player picks up a friend or date, it won't be listed on the map, but the player can still walk through the door and take the elevator, regardless. (However, Niko cannot enjoy "coffee" with his dates in the penthouse; he needs to take them back to their own homes.) The penthouse also includes photographs of a child Playboy X and Dwayne, evidence of the penthouse's previous owner and his associate.

From the bedroom there is an open double-door which leads out onto a wood and stone-floored patio. There are deck chairs and a sunshade, a hot tub and a gas barbecue outside with an explosive gas canister. The player can exit the patio by going down the fire stairs at one side, or can jump across to the adjacent building and take the internal stairs straight to street level. A fall from the patio can kill the player.

Lost and Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony

The penthouse can be accessed during both of the DLC games The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Both require the use of a helicopter to land on the room, and then jump down into the penthouse garden. The elevator to the lobby, save point, wardrobe and TV are disabled, however. As noted in "Trivia," below, this is a good place to attempt the One Man Army achievement during the DLCs. To exit, it's possible to climb back on the roof to the chopper; alternately, the fire escape or the next door building can be used to exit. The lobby is also accessible, complete with its free Internet, and as with all GTA IV safehouses, the parking spot in front remains available for storing vehicles.

Trivia

  • On the coffee table, there is a magazine entitled "BJ". If examined closely the front of the magazine has a member of the North Holland Hustlers.
 
A pre-release version of the penthouse's living space glimpsed on I'm Rich in GTA IV.
  • A pre-release version of the penthouse can be seen on television when it serves as a background for CNT's I'm Rich, most noticeably featuring a different floor texture and TV stand.
  • Playboy X's Penthouse is a near-perfect place to obtain the "One Man Army" achievement/trophy. To do this the player has to do the following: access the internet on the guard's computer in the lobby and go to littlelacysurprisepageant.com inside the apartment, therefore gaining a five star wanted level. The player must then either activate the "increase wanted level" cheat (this does not block any achievements) or kill police officers that come into the lobby (alternately, shooting at cops and helicopters from the roof will work too). As soon as the player kills enough police officers to get bumped up to six stars or gains a six star wanted level with the first method, immediately head back for the elevator to the apartment. The player will have six stars, but the police won't be able to follow you up. However, the police can use the opposite building to access the player's loft (though this almost never happens; instead the cops usually just shoot at Niko from the opposite rooftop). Take cover behind the pool table with an AK-47 or Carbine Rifle, watch the doorway that leads outside and blast away any police officers that access the loft via the opposite building should they manage to do so (more often, police that attempt to jump across fall to their deaths) or alternatively, wait outside for police officers to arrive or a Police Maverick or Annihilator to arrive, then shoot them down. (On occasion, but not every time, police snipers may position themselves on one of the high buildings nearby.) After keeping this up for five minutes, the player should receive the achievement. When the player has achieved the achievement, save the game, and you'll be back to full health with the wanted level wiped out. Except for the saving part, the player can use this method regardless of if they have chosen to kill Playboy X or Dwayne Forge in the mission The Holland Play to gain the achievement.