Imperialist

The Imperialist is a sniper weapon used by the Kriken Empire to increase their territory. It fires a powerful, long-ranged laser beam with incredible accuracy, but its precise nature severely limits its rate of fire and it cannot be charged. To enhance its role as a sniping weapon, the Imperialist has zoom capabilities. Zoom in by pressing "R", the Select button, or double tapping the weapon icon on the bottom screen. When you pass the zoomed in reticle over a target, even if it is behind a wall, the weapon will automatically zoom in further, allowing for increased accuracy. It is capable of inflicting an instant kill on an enemy bounty hunter if a headshot is achieved with the scope. When Trace uses this, he can cloak himself while standing still. This is a rare hitscan weapon, because it hits its target immediately when fired (since, as a laser, it moves at the speed of light). When used in story mode, it colors the markings on Samus' Arm Cannon red, and alters the Targeting Reticule.

Trivia

 * Certain objects will show the words "PRECISION" and "ZOOM" in the description when scanned. The words "PRECISION" and "ZOOM" always refer to the Imperialist.
 * The Imperialist is the only sniper weapon used by Samus in the Metroid Series.
 * The Imperialist is the first weapon to use zoom functions in a Metroid game. They are later used with the Nova Beam and X-Ray Visor combo in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
 * Sometimes the Imperialist retains its non-zoomed crosshair when zooming in. It occurs when the wielder uses the zoom function as the weapon is still switching over from the previous one.