Girlfriends in GTA IV

Dating Basics
Like the previous GTA title San Andreas, dating makes a return in GTA IV. Aside from the amusing interactions between Niko Bellic and the women he dates (Hot Coffee anyone?), there can be several in game benefits to starting a relationship with the women of Liberty City. Putting in a little bit of time to woo certain women can unlock their special abilities that can help in particularly difficult missions later on.

After the Brucie mission "Out of the Closet", Niko can start to set up dates through the in game internet dating site love-meet.com and craplist.net. Niko can set up dates with three different women through the internet in addition to the two that he meets in the course of the storyline. Once Niko has set up the date through love-meet.com, there is a wait period and then he will receive an e-mail from the date. A date and time will be set and added to the organizer on Niko's phone to which he will go on the "first date". This first date is the most important as it will determine whether Niko will be able to get their phone number and continue dating them.

Like the other relationships that Niko has with his newfound friends in Liberty City, you gain their favor by taking them on dates to different venues around the city. Unlike the other male friends however, dating is more than just worrying about the venue. To have a successful date Niko must cater to the women's tastes in three areas; Clothing, Car and Venue. Each have different tastes and will respond accordingly. This guide will help you set up the fastest and easiest way to impress the women and raise their fondness level to the point at which it will unlock their special ability.

Clothing
Clothing comes in three flavors in Liberty City, the lowly RUSSIAN SHOP, the trendy MODO shop and finally the expensive PERSEUS. Each of the women have their own preferences when it comes to Niko's fashion style, but being "dressed to impress" and catering to the women's tastes is perhaps the easiest way to help ensure that the date is a success.

Russian Shop - The Russian shop is the first clothing store you visit as is the cheapest of the three. Stick to only one pair of clothes from the Russian shop as only two of the five women like it.

MODO - The second clothing store can be found in two branches in Algonquin and is easy to recognize with the giant MODO neon sign. The clothing is mid priced and will pretty much be the staple of dating clothing.

Perseus - The top of the line Perseus brand clothing is priced accordingly and can be out of budget until at least mid game. If you were thrifty however you might pick up a PERSUES outfit early. A suit is the best choice when buying from PERSEUS, as the all in one purchase impress most of the women who like "high class" clothing. Don't forget the shoes!

Cars
When it comes to dating in Liberty city cars come in three flavors;

a. Luxury Cars

b. Sports Cars

c. Mainstream Cars

The difference is usually visually apparent. Luxury cars are the best looking,though not always the fastest. Coupes are usually the way to go when looking for Luxury cars, but luxury Sedans also work well. The Sports cars are usually the fastest cars around and while they look good, they may not appeal to the women who expect high class cars. Lastly there are the mainstream cars, the garden variety Sedans and SUVs around Liberty City. Don't use a mainstream car on a date unless your desperately out of time and need a quick ride to pick her up in.

When picking a car for a date, use visual cues. The sportier, shinier and better looking the car is the higher the chances that dates will like it. Most of the women in Liberty City, even those that like the low class clothing, all like nice cars. Go for the best ones you can find when going on a date. It's even a good idea to keep a good car that you find in your Safe-house parking space. This saves time in finding one later on and will keep date maintenance easier.

NOTE: The motorcycle doesn't seem to appeal to any of the women of Liberty City and a nasty crash with the date on-board can lead to a failed date.

Venues
Venues can also be broken up into categories;

A. Food Burgers/Cluck'n Bell/Restaurants and Diners

B. Bars Self explanatory. Denoted with a martini glass on map

C. Sports Bowling, Darts, Pool, etc.

D. Shows Cabaret and Comedy Club

Each girlfriend has their own preferences on Venues, and can be convenient at times (date lives next to restaurant) or annoying (venue is clear across town). It's important to use Venues that the date likes a lot early in the game to get them to 100% fondness quickly. After that you can use closer and perhaps less liked venues for fondness maintenance later on.

Ladies of Liberty City
There are five women in Liberty City that Niko can date. Michelle and Kate are met through the game storyline and while dating them don't provide any real tangible benefit (Hot Coffee not withstanding) they do contribute to a 100% game completion.

Michelle
Date Setup: Part of the game storyline, so its automatic. After the mission "Three's a Crowd" you are told to go the Russian Shop for new clothes. After this you can call her to set up a date.

Clothing Preference: Russian Shop (though she isn't bothered by other clothing)

Vehicle Preference: Almost any vehicle (no police car, trucks, weird cars, etc)

Venue Preference: Almost any venue will impress Michelle, though some will gain fondness faster than others. Sport Venues such as Bowling, Darts and Pool are the best choices and cheap east such as Cluckin' Bell and Burger Shot also work well. She is perhaps the easiest to impress.

Tangible Benefit: None (besides Hot Coffee Achievement)

Notes: Michelle is the first "girlfriend" you encounter and serves as a training girlfriend for the game. There is no real tangible benefit to dating her aside from the requirement of the story-related missions.

**IMPORTANT NOTE** If you want to get the perfect 100% girlfriend fondness that's needed for the XBOX 360 achievement, you need to have Michelle's fondness at 100% before the mission "Snow Storm".

Carmen Ortiz (SoBoHoe)
Date Setup: After the "Out of the Closet" mission, Niko can set up dates on-line through love-meet.com in any of the games' internet cafés. Carmen's profile name is SOBOHOE and after you select the "DATE" option on her profile there is an initial wait period. After some time (approx 12-24 game hours) you will receive an email from Carmen and the first date will be set up at 00:00 (that's 12 midnight) the following day.

Clothing Preference: Carmen prefers expensive clothes, the more expensive the better. If you date her early in the game and can't shell out the cash for PERSEUS clothing, MODO clothing also works well. A change of clothes on the second date will also help boost the rate of fondness you acquire from the date.

Vehicle Preference: Carmen also prefers expensive Luxury cars. Stick to Luxury or Sports cars and coupes. After your initial first date, it's a good idea to keep a Luxury car parked at the Bohan Safe-house for future dates.

Venue Preference: Bars! Seriously, Carmen loves to hit the sauce. Any of the bars around liberty city will do. Taking her to a Bar will almost guarantee her number after the first date. For an even closer fix, she also likes the Strip Club. Do not take her out to eat when you're trying to raise her fondness quickly, later on they can be used to maintain her fondness but early on they do very little to raise fondness.

Tangible Benefit: Health Boost - This ability allows Niko to call Carmen for medical advice and a quick health boost. Currently it has a bug that makes it not work during a mission sometimes.

Easiest Way To Date: The easiest way to get Carmen to like Niko is to show up in as expensive clothing as you can afford and the most extravagant car you can find. It's always good to keep an expensive car in the Safe-house parking at Bohan for the occasion and will keep you from having to keep looking. One visit to a bar and two return visits to the strip club should be enough to raise her Fondness to the point where she will allow you to use her special ability.

Kiki Jenkins (LawChick)
Date Setup: Like Carmen, a date with Kiki can be set up after the "Out of the Closet" mission through the internet café. Her profile name is LawChick. Later dates can be set up by calling her between 6am - 2am.

Clothing Preference: Kiki likes the cheap clothes from the RUSSIAN shop. As such she is a good choice for the first woman to date.

Vehicle Preference: Kiki prefers a good mid range nice car. Though not as picky as Carmen, it's still good to stick to a good car. Watch out though, while she likes Luxury cars, she isn't all that appreciative of sports-cars. A Washington or Marbella found around Algonquin do nicely.

Venue Preference: Kiki likes both Sport activities (Bowling, Darts, Pool) and Shows (Cabaret, Comedy). Don't bother with food or drinking and they barely help.

Tangible Benefit: Remove Wanted Level - Kiki's benefit can remove up to three wanted levels. This ability even works on some missions. The ability takes a moment to kick in after calling.

Easiest Way To Date: The easiest way to boost Kiki's fondness level is to show up in RUSSIAN SHOP clothing, a formal but nice car and then take her to the Comedy Club in Algonquin. This will ensure her number on the first date. Twice to the comedy club and a sports activity should be enough to get her fondness in the high 80's or 90's.

Alex (www.craplist.net)
Date Setup: Unlike the first two, dating Alex can be setup through crap-list.net. Scroll down and find the entry "Party girl seeks man for NSA fun and blog material", then click the "Contact" link. After an initial wait time you will get an email with details about your first date with her.

Clothing Preference: PERSEUS. That's about it, no if's and or buts'.

Vehicle Preference: As fancy a sports car as you can find. The most convenient would be a Turismo which can occasionally be found near north Algonquin.

Venue Preference: Alex has the same preference as Kiki, Sports and Shows.

Tangible Benefit: Store Discount - when used all clothing from stores are half off for the next 24 in game hours.

Easiest Way to Date: The easiest way to date Alex is to show up with the best car you can find and wearing the most expensive clothes you can buy. Take her to the Comedy Club a few times, its close and she likes it a lot. It's a good idea to keep an expensive sports car in the mid-Algonquin safe-house for future dates.

5.5 Kate McReary
Date Setup: After doing a couple of the Packy McReary missions, Packy will ask you take Kate out on a date and give you her number. You can call her whenever you're ready for a first date.

Clothing Preference: MODO clothing. Don't forget the shoes.

Vehicle Preference: A nice moderate car. Nothing to fancy but nothing too cheap either.

Tangible Benefits: As far as I can tell, none. Contributes to 100% game completion.

Easiest Way to Date: Wearing MODO clothing, take Kate to the following Venues in order. Darts, Pool, Drinking (at the Steinway Beer Garden) and the Pool again. This should get her to 100% fondness in no time.


 * This guide was created by RomeoTwoZero and posted with permission.
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