Welcome to Gameboomers, krona9 ! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Magicscroll mentioned the button within Ecoquest 1 that solved a puzzle - I was so happy to see that Tex Murphy had that function!
But a button for action? Interesting thought. I'm really not sure why adventure developers add these action sequences, unless they're trying to appeal to a larger audience. However, they seldom make the game more appealing to action players because the action that one encounters in an adventure game is generally so brief and so simplistic compared to what an action gamer usually plays, that they don't get enjoyment out of it either.
_________________________
"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry