I don't know the grouping and team situation on other platforms but on Xbox I don't see a party interface at all. I just want to form a party and play with my friends(on my team). How do I do that? Is there a code or magic spell?

I don't think you can since there aren't any lobbies. Ive been trying to play with my friends all day, I just get into a match and send out invites so they can join in progress.

With all the hype about how great of a team game Brink was going to be (and in many ways is) I shouldn't have to work for 30 minutes just to get my friends together in a match.

Don't get me wrong the game is super fun but party play should have been a priority in a team based game. I managed so far with the option to invite people within the match. The lag on the other hand...I don't even want to get into that. We'll have to wait and see what they do.

I agree. A party system needs to be included in any multiplayer game, and not having one is a huge letdown.

In addition to having a party system, there should also be the option to migrate your party from the various game modes, and for party members to "ready up" in order to launch a game faster. A few friends and I tried a couple of the challenges last night and sitting in the post game lobby and waiting for the 30 second countdown timer to start the same challenge over was quite annoying, but even more so to back out to the main menu, select a different challenge, and re-invite them back in to the game.

I hoping that these features are patched in very soon as I know a lot of people who are interested in this game, but having these little annoyances that add up without being addressed will either not make them want to buy it, or jump ship as soon as another game comes out.