I loved Icewind Dale I . Great athmosphere, great setting, imagination and landscape.
It was spoilt by far too many fights.
If I think about IWD2 as a squad-level tactical game instead of an RPG, it becomes less "mindless" for me. I liked it as a strategy game,and there was enough RPing to put the battles in some context.
And - what's more, I fear that combat, fighting, violence is in some countries - those which produce the most RPG games - a well-accepted way of (re)solving problems - kill, and your problem is no more.
You've got it all wrong. The only reason violence is the only means to solve a problem in most games is because the other methods don't make very fun games. It's not reflective of any particular larger philosophy; I just don't want to have a 12-step intervention with the Evil Wizard at the end of a game. Nor do I want to play a game where the object is to establish a meaningful relationship and build trust. I'm male. I want naked girls, big snazzy spell effects, and nifty weapons. We're programmed to constantly test our survival skills (mine are superb, by the way) and games provide the means to safely do so.
Be very careful about assuming how other people think, or assuming that a piece of media influences or indicates someone's decision making and values any more than jousting or gladiator games did. Humans are more complicated than that, even Americans.
Heck, we try very hard to make sure our prefabricated, cross-marketed, buy-one-get-a-free-Happy-Meal, assembly line, homogenous products have as little actual substance or relevance as possible because they need to appeal to the lowest common denominator of the target demographic. The mean nothing beyond someone's hope of making money, which is our real problem.
Basically, what you see as a violent TV show (or game) that has some profound statement about acceptance of violence, we see as a stupid TV show to fly past on the remote control in a vain attempt to find something good. We know we'll have to endure the endless barrage of commercials, and just hope that one or two will show some decent cleavage.
